Divine
by shishifufu
Summary: With Fairy Tail coming out victorious at the Grand Magic Games, Lucy Heartfilia finds herself seeing more of the new Sabertooth guild master. They find an unexpected friendship in one another and realize they might have found something more. But will they be able to endure the hardships that are to come? Sting/Lucy, *lemon
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Sting ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He'd been wandering around aimlessly for hours now, waiting for Rogue to finish up his shopping. He was about to make his fifth round around the shopping area when he heard a familiar voice.

"What? That's how I found her, I couldn't help any of that!" Lucy Heartfilia was arguing with a heavyset middle aged woman, who Sting assumed was her client.

Ever since Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games, the members had been getting a lot of personal requests for jobs despite other guilds being closer to the location. This particular job had requested Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia and her Celestial Spirit, Virgo, to retrieve the client's daughter who was taken from their family restaurant. The client had requested Lucy and Virgo because the kidnapper was a Sand Magic user and was known for his underground hideouts.

"Maybe you should have gotten here quicker, you brat!" The old woman yelled at Lucy, who was taken aback by the woman's attitude.

As Sting listened, he looked over to observe the situation. Lucy and her client were standing in front of a little mom & pop restaurant in the corner of the shopping square. A small teenage girl was cowering behind the older woman. _She must be the girl they're arguing about_ , Sting thought. She had a few bruises on her face and arms, but other than that she seemed fine. Almost as if she had just bathed, actually. Lucy, on the other hand, looked a little bit worse for wear. She wore a sleeveless, low-cut blue shirt with a black mini skirt and skin-tight black boots that ran the length of her legs. But what got him was the fact that she was covered in dirt from head to toe, and her lower arms were scratched up. Sting let his eyes linger on Lucy longer than he'd like to admit and smirked. Despite looking like she just crawled out of a hole, he had to admit she still looked better than most people on a good day.

"I left Magnolia as soon as your request came in! Please, Mrs. Mamiko, try to calm down." Lucy pleaded. "I did the best that I could. Your daughter is safe now, and that's wha—"

Mrs. Mamiko raised her hand and slapped Lucy across the face, cutting her off.

Sting furrowed his brows in frustration. He couldn't keep watching this. He was different now than he used to be—he wasn't going to just stand around and watch as another mage, especially one of Fairy Tail, was abused by a client. He walked over and grabbed the old woman's arm. "What's going on over here?" He asked, his voice firm.

"This—This tramp over here brought my beautiful Haruka back covered in bruises and expects me to still pay her. I'm not paying for such poor quality of work," Mrs. Mamiko spat as she crossed her arms and huffed.

Sting looked back and forth between Lucy and Mrs. Mamiko before he laid his eyes on the client's daughter, Haruka. She was a cute young girl with short brown hair, and her cheeks turned red as she noticed him staring at her. "You." Sting said as he stepped closer. "Did Lucy here do any of this to you?"

The girl shook her head rapidly, blushing wildly from Sting's proximity. He ignored the girl's ogling before he turned back to face Mrs. Mamiko and continued, "So I'm still not following you, lady. What's the problem here if none of this was Lucy's fault?"

Mrs. Mamiko was growing more flustered and glared again at Lucy. "I'm not going to repeat myself. The bottom line is, I'm not paying you."

As Lucy went to rebut, she stopped herself as Sting picked up Haruka and threw her over his shoulder.

 _At least someone is enjoying the situation_ , Lucy chuckled. The young girl looked as if she was on cloud nine and Lucy could have sworn she saw her eyes roll to the back of her head as she was sniffing Sting's clothes.

"Well, sounds to me like you don't really need your daughter back, then. Hey Lucy, which direction did you find her in? I'll just go put her back." Sting looked at Lucy expectantly and threw her a wink.

Completely amused by the situation now, Lucy pointed her finger to her left, earning a smirk from Sting.

"Stop! Stop! What are you doing with my beautiful daughter?! Get back here!" Mrs. Mamiko started panicking before she began chasing after her daughter.

"If your daughter means that much to you, it shouldn't be such a problem to pay the woman who saved her for you." Sting stopped walking to glare back at the old woman.

Her old, wrinkly face was scrunched with anger. She knew there wasn't anything else she could do. She was outnumbered against two powerful mages. "Fine." She snapped. "The sooner I get you two out of my hair the better, anyways. But this will be the last Fairy Tail hears of me." Noticing the different guild mark on Sting's arm, she added, "And Sabertooth as well, it seems."

Sting rolled his eyes as he swatted Haruka's hands away from his suspender buckles and let her down. Mrs. Mamiko handed a stack of jewels over to Celestial mage before she grabbed her daughter's hand and stomped away.

Lucy looked from the jewels in her hand and over to Sting, throwing her arms up in the air. "Ha!" She busted out laughing and ran over to give him a hug. "That was so great, thank you so much for your help!" She was beaming.

"Nah, it was really no big deal. That lady pissed me off." Sting rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, slightly uncomfortable from the hug since he wasn't used to such affections. He coughed as he inhaled some of the sand in her hair.

Lucy released Sting from her grip and lightly blushed, taking a couple steps back to rub the sand out of her hair and off her arms. _How embarrassing!_ Someone helps her out and in return she shoves sand in their face. Now Lucy definitely felt obligated to make it up to him somehow. She snapped her fingers as an idea came to mind. "You hungry? Lunch is on me!" She smiled as she held up her salary from the job.

* * *

They chose a nice little burger joint on the far end of the shopping center. Lucy was really enjoying her time with Sting, which she thought was a little odd. Yeah, Fairy Tail and Sabertooth were on good terms ever since the Grand Magic Games and the whole Eclipse Project debacle, but she'd still never spent time with a Sabertooth mage if it wasn't required for a job.

Either way, Lucy found it was so easy to talk to him, almost as if they had been friends for years.

When they got to the restaurant, she ordered the biggest burger on the menu. Sting noticed the sparkle in her eyes as Lucy got her food and he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Lucy asked as she nibbled on a couple fries.

"I just pegged you as the salad type." He teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

Lucy threw her head back and laughed with him. "I probably should be with how often Happy complains about how heavy I am to carry. But if Cana can drink barrels of alcohol a day, I can enjoy a juicy burger and fries!" She stated simply as she dug into her burger.

As they ate, Sting noticed how at ease he felt around Lucy. He was so used to people being intimidated by him, he'd never actually had a casual conversation with anyone outside of the guild. But here with her, he felt… warm. And safe. Almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was a new feeling for him, and he found that he rather enjoyed it.

"So what are you doing in town today? Did you have a job as well?" Lucy asked, snapping him out of his train of thought.

"No, Rogue had to come find a new frog suit for Frosch." Sting groaned.

"Oh no, what happened to the old one?"

Sting took note of how Lucy stuck her lower lip out to pout.

"Frosch lost the damn thing." He cringed, as if recalling a nightmare.

At this, Lucy's eyebrows shot up, and she looked confused. "Lost… The frog suit?"

"Believe it or not. Frosch took a bath and the next thing you know, poor Fro is frog suit-less." He let out a light laugh. "You should have been there when Rogue found out. He almost had a meltdown. I came with him, but he was in such a bad mood I couldn't take it any longer."

Lucy took a few seconds to process the story before she busted out laughing, wrapping her arms around her abdomen. "I'm—I'm sorry, it's not funny, it's not. I'm sorry for laughing." Lucy gave a cheeky smile and tried to stop chuckling. She still had her arms wrapped around her waist, and with the outfit she was wearing, the motion accentuated her cleavage in the low-cut blue shirt she was wearing.

Sting blushed and tried not to get distracted by the view. "No, it's okay to laugh. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a pretty hilarious situation." He gave her a goofy grin, and tried to look elsewhere so as not to get caught staring.

She giggled with him for a little longer before she stopped and cradled her face in her hands. "You've got a really nice smile, you know. You should do it more often." Lucy said as she herself smiled. Sting found that he thought her smile was truly gorgeous, and felt his face heating up yet again. He looked up and got lost in her honey brown orbs, forgetting that he hadn't replied.

"Sting." Rogue called out from behind him, nodding his head in acknowledgement at Lucy. "Mission complete." He stated in his deep, calm voice as he held up a cat-sized pink frog suit.

Sting let out an internal sigh of relief. Rogue had saved the day, bless the man. He owed him a drink. Lucy had caught him off guard with her compliment about his smile. Sting had had enough of the weird warm sensations Lucy was making him feel and was eager to leave so that he could think on it. Since they had finished their food and Rogue was back, Sting got out of his chair to leave.

Lucy did the same.

"I had a really great time, Sting. Thanks again for the help with the client. And for keeping me company for lunch as well." Lucy gave another one of her signature smiles and giggled as she walked away, waving goodbye to Sting and Rogue.

As soon as Lucy was out of earshot, Sting let out the breath he had been holding, sounding defeated. He looked at Rogue, who was in turn looking at him with a raised eyebrow as if asking "Well?"

"I'll tell you about it on the way home. We had better hurry back before Lector's mental health suffers any more than it has." Sting stretched his arms and followed suit behind Rogue.

* * *

 _Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic._ Minerva thought as she watched Sting blush for the fifth time since he had sat down to have lunch with that blonde bimbo. She let out a growl of anger and clenched her fists by her side. When had Sting gotten so soft? The master of the Sabertooth guild should never _blush._ The whole situation was an embarrassment. He was making a mockery out of the guild her father had once made great. And though she was no longer a part of it, her name was still associated with that mess of a guild. _There will be hell to pay, Sting Eucliffe_.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey guys! I cannot explain how excited and thankful I am that you all are reading my story! I forgot to mention with the first chapter that this is my first fanfiction, so please be gentle. *nervous laughter*

I apologize if it seems like things are moving kind of slow with this story, I just have a lot planned with it so I really wanted to capture the blossoming of everyone's relationships. Please let me know if there is anything I need to fix or if you have any suggestions!

Chapter 2

Lucy took her time walking to the guild from her apartment. Though she had thought about her lunch with Sting the entire trip home and well into the night, she still couldn't shake the feeling that maybe there was more to lunch than just… _lunch_. She felt giddy, like someone had just given her a million jewel. Well, Sting had technically been responsible for her being given the 500,000-jewel reward for the job, so that was close enough, wasn't it? After all, she had just finished paying off the next 6 months' worth of rent to her landlady. She rolled her eyes at herself as she approached the new Fairy Tail guild hall. She needed to pull herself together. Lucy took one more deep breath as she composed herself and pushed the oversized wooden doors open before her.

"Welcome back, Lucy!" Mirajane called across the large room from the bar. Everyone turned to look her way and shout their greetings before going back to their own business. Lucy waved back and walked over to the bar to sit with Wendy.

"How did your job go?" Wendy turned in her seat to look at Lucy. Her brown eyes widened a little as she noticed the scratches all over Lucy's arms. "Your arms are all messed up! Let me heal them for you!"

"Yeah, how _was_ your job? For being so scratched up, you look like someone just gave you a million jewel!" Mira chuckled.

 _Damn it._ There was no point in hiding details if Mirajane was involved. "Oh, it's nothing!" Lucy stated nonchalantly. "Yesterday just had an unexpected twist to it while I was in Crocus." She shifted back into her seat as Wendy finished healing her arms.

"Ooh! Please tell us about it!" Mira's eyes were sparkling with curiosity. She handed Lucy a plate of the pancakes being served for breakfast that morning before she grabbed two more plates for her and Wendy and dragged the blonde celestial wizard over to the nearest table. Gajeel and Levy were seated on the other end of the table, but seemed preoccupied as Gajeel was heard groaning profanities.

Lucy told them all about her day, from how she had left before the sun had even come up that morning to Sting helping her with her client. They kept getting interrupted by Gajeel yelling at Levy about something being too detailed, but she made sure not to leave out any important details. Mira even told Lucy all about how the Mamiko family was actually extremely wealthy for owning such a small restaurant. Their daughter, Haruka, was supposed to be married off to a wealthy nobleman, which was why the reward for the job was so high.

Lucy had been skeptical at first to share her story with anybody, but when the two girls sitting in front of her began squealing, she realized that it was a huge relief to get the story off her chest.

Just as she finished telling Mira and Wendy that she had invited Sting to lunch with her, Gajeel's eyebrows shot up. _This is the perfect opportunity_. "Ya don't say, bunny girl?" He interrupted Levy mid-sentence and scooted over toward Lucy. "So, ya went and had yourself a little lunch date with Sting Eucliffe, did ya?"

Upon hearing this, Levy's head snapped in their direction, her mouth hung open. "No way, Lu!" She stood up, abandoning the papers that were strewn in front of her to come sit with them.

Lucy looked at Gajeel, bewildered. Since when had he ever cared about this kind of stuff? But when she noticed the pleading look in his eyes as he looked from her back to Levy, she understood. Word had it from Mira that Levy had been experimenting with a new hobby lately: writing erotic novels. And since Jet and Droy quite literally couldn't handle it without their noses bleeding, Gajeel was the one stuck with having to help her out. Lucky for her, Levy had said she wouldn't let Lucy read any of her work until she perfected it.

Feeling bad for the iron dragon slayer, Lucy repeated her story, to which Gajeel looked as though he had been granted salvation from the depths of hell. She knew he didn't actually care, but the poor man had bags under his eyes as if he had been sleep deprived for days. Levy's stories must really be haunting him. Just as she finished this thought, Lucy noticed out of the corner of her eyes that Juvia was picking up Levy's papers from the table. Gajeel must have noticed too, because his eyes became so wide that they looked as if they were going to pop out of their sockets.

"Oh… Oh _my._ " Juvia's face turned such a deep, new shade of red that everyone stopped what they were doing and sat in silence as they waited for her reaction. They got more than they bargained for, however, when Gray walked up next to Juvia and took the papers out of her hand, reading them as he asked what she was so embarrassed about.

Everyone was biting their nails in anticipation as Gray continued to read the crumpled papers. He hadn't turned any shade of red yet, but what was even better was that he was sweating. Gray Fullbuster, the perpetually cold ice-make mage of Fairy Tail, was _sweating_. This was golden.

But the moment was ruined as soon as Natsu and Happy burst through the doors of the guild hall. "Yo, Luce! You're back!"

As Natsu hurried over to the table where everyone was gathered, he too noticed one sweating Gray Fullbuster as well as a… scarlet? No, maybe cherry?-colored Juvia. Recognizing the source of the awkward atmosphere as the papers clutched in Gray's hands, Natsu snatched them away.

"What in the hell is this?!" He yelled at the ice wizard. "I always knew you were a perv, but this is pushing it, Gray!"

As soon as Natsu had started yelling, everyone at the table groaned and immediately stood up to leave. The moment was over.

"You really are a flame brain!" Gray shot back, butting his head against Natsu's.

Lucy closed her eyes and sighed as the fire dragon slayer threw the first fist. Once her nerves had calmed, she looked over to the young blue-haired girl standing to her side. "Well, now's as good a time as ever. You ready to go?"

Wendy's eyes crinkled as she smiled. "Of course, let's do this!"

* * *

"Why were we the ones that ended up having to do the traveling? Why couldn't Fairy Tail have come to us?" Rogue grumbled, kicking a loose pebble as they walked. "Frosch is still recovering."

Sting groaned as he slowly dragged his hands down his face for dramatic effect. "From _what_ exactly? Frosch just lost a damn frog suit, it's not like she was attacked by a dog."

"Dogs only attack cats." Frosch whispered into the dark robes of the shadow dragon slayer.

"You _are_ a cat." Sting stated offhandedly.

"Oh god, _why_?" Lector cried out as he fell on his knees and whimpered.

"I… I'm… I'm a _cat?_ " Frosch lifted her head to look up at Rogue before she buried her head back into his chest and started crying.

Rogue Cheney was _livid. "_ It was a _traumatic_ emotional experience!" He spat out, magic energy radiating off of him in waves. He tightened his hold on Frosch, rubbing his hand consolingly across the back of her pink frog suit.

Sting inwardly cursed himself as he used his fingers to pinch between the corners of his eyes. They were almost there. He wouldn't have to deal with Rogue's constant mood swings when they arrived. Relief coursed through his body at the thought.

As soon as his eyes caught sight of the Fairy Tail guild hall, Sting was skipping with excitement until they reached the wooden doors of the strongest guild in Fiore. As he threw the doors open, he caught himself looking for Lucy.

Rogue noticed how the blonde dragon slayer's shoulders slumped in disappointment as he scanned the crowd. _Does he even realize his behavior_? Rogue was snapped out of his thought's as the Fairies' guild master spoke.

"Boys! Come, sit. I'm afraid that I cannot brief you all until Erza, Lucy, and Wendy return for the evening. Until then, make yourself at home!" Makarov shouted, taking a swig out of his stein.

Rogue put Frosch down and sighed, patting Sting on the back and looking around for Natsu and Gajeel.

"Well if it isn't the two Sabertooth pretty boys." Gajeel chimed.

Sting and Rogue stood there and blinked a few times before they looked from Gajeel to each other. "Does he look a little different to you?" Sting whispered to Rogue.

"Yeah, he seems to have bags under his eyes." Rogue whispered back. "If I were to guess, I would say that he is suffering from sleep deprivation."

"Quit your yapping over there and come keep Levy company while I go grab us drinks." Gajeel snapped as he got up from the table he was sitting at.

The two Sabertooth dragon slayers nodded in acknowledgement. Rogue took the seat adjacent to the small blue-haired mage with the glasses while Sting ran off as soon as he located a familiar head of pink hair.

"Here, I could actually use another opinion!" Levy squealed as she stuck a piece of paper in front of Rogue's face.

Confused, he carefully took the paper from her hands and cleared his throat before he read.

"Now, I know what you're thinking. It needs more detail, right?" Levy asked, laying her hand on his shoulder. He flinched upon the contact, which Levy took as a sign to continue. "Gajeel has read every one I have written, and each time he says that it's way too detailed. So I had to cut out so much and now it feels too short." She took the paper back from him as she sat back down and rested her chin on her fist as if in thought. "But anyways, what'd you think?" She finally asked, not noticing that Rogue had stopped breathing and sat in shock upon reading the first sentence.

"Yo Salamander! Go snap shadow-boy out of his trance!" Gajeel yelled from across the room, his voice holding a tinge of worry.

Natsu stopped mid-sentence in his conversation with Sting. He was confused until he looked over to see Rogue, who looked as if his soul had floated out of his body. "Ah man," Natsu sighed. He motioned for Sting to follow him.

"Damn, Levy. How many guys are you planning on taking out with that stuff?" Natsu asked as they approached the blue solid script mage.

"What do you mean 'taking out'?" She asked, her eyes revealing her insecurity.

 _NO, no, no._ Gajeel thought as he slammed the tray of drinks down onto the able. _Dammit, what was I thinking sending Salamander of all people?! He's too dense for this kind of stuff._

"What Salamander means is that your writing is so good, it might give guys the wrong idea." Gajeel rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously as he prayed that this would work.

"What?" Natsu looked at the iron slayer incredulously. "No that's not what I meant at all, you know I meant—"

"Lulu!" Levy wailed as three figures entered the guild hall.

As Sting was tending to Rogue's limp body, he took note of the condition the three girls were in. Lucy and Erza looked as though they had gotten pretty roughed up, but the little sky dragon slayer was unscathed. He attempted to wonder more on the subject, until he felt an aura of pure anger approaching. Erza, Wendy, and Lucy were stalking over to the table where Levy was crying. Lucy looked _murderous_.

"What in the _hell_ is going on here?!" Lucy shouted, grabbing Natsu and Gajeel by the collar.

"Lucy-kick their asses!" Levy shouted, wiping her tears.

It didn't take Lucy long to put two and two together. As she observed the scene more closely, she noticed the Sabertooth guild master trying to awaken an unconscious Rogue. On the table where Rogue had been sitting was a piece of paper with Levy's handwriting. It was obvious that Levy had shown the Sabertooth mage her newest work, and that Natsu said something he shouldn't have. Lucy released Gajeel, but pulled the fire dragon slayer closer.

"You _idiot_ , Natsu!" Lucy glared at him. "Do you know how hard it is to be a writer and show people your new work for the first time? If you don't like it, there's plenty of ways for you to say it without making them cry! It's called _constructive_ criticism!" She shouted.

Natsu gulped as he saw hellfire ignite in Lucy's normally peaceful golden eyes. He was about to get Lucy-kicked. He exhaled a short prayer as he accepted his fate.

" _Enough_ , my children!" Makarov shouted from the top of the bar. Seriously, when would they learn? "We have guests, let us show them _manners_ , dammit!"

Lucy released Natsu and looked over to Sting and a now-conscious Rogue cowering behind Gajeel who was in turn hiding behind Levy. "Hmph." She said as she walked over to give Levy a hug.

"Gather 'round: Natsu, Happy, Erza, Gray, Lucy, Lily, Gajeel, Levy, and Sabertooth mages. I must discuss a job with you." Makarov situated himself more comfortably atop the bar as the summoned wizards grouped around him. "We have gotten a request from the Mayor of Gallowstown."

"The coastal town out west?" Erza asked. "What do they want from us?" Her interest was piqued as she thought of sun tanning.

"They have had problems with a large serpent monster wreaking havoc on their town." Makarov explained. "Their local guild has fought endlessly to defeat it, but to no avail. They have requested all of our dragon slayers as well as any others we might know." He nodded his head in the direction of Sting and Rogue, indicating why they were there. "Wendy and Carla had already accepted another job by the time I had gotten this request so they will be unable to join you." He added.

The group of mages bowed their heads in acknowledgement as Makarov finished.

"We shall leave immediately." Erza stepped forward. "The people of Gallowstown need not be waiting any longer. I shall go fetch us two carriages."

"Sting!" Lector shouted as he jumped into the light dragon slayer's arms. "A job with Fairy Tail's finest! This is going to be a blast!" He shouted, grinning madly and throwing a thumbs up.

"Yeah, it is. Fairy Tail's finest indeed." Sting agreed, smirking as his blue eyes wandered to a certain celestial wizard.

* * *

 **It's me again.** I just wanted to say thanks again for sticking with me, everybody! I promise to update as soon as I am able. Classes are really starting to pick up with the end of the semester, but I will try my best to get Chapter 3 out within the next week and a half! :3


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been decided that the team would take two carriages to Gallowstown and ride straight through the night. Lucy had fully expected to be stuck in the same carriage as Natsu and Happy, but she was not expecting Sting, Rogue, Lector, and Frosch to be riding with them as well. She stuck her lower lip out in a pout. She had been sure Erza and Levy would want to ride with her. _Oh well_ , she sighed. It couldn't be that bad.

For the first few hours, the three dragon slayers sat on the edge of their seats, one hand clasped over their mouths and the other across their stomachs. Their heads hung in shame. Lucy had been attempting to read with a small lacrima that she liked to use as a booklight, but the noise was worse than she anticipated. She rubbed at her temples in frustration.

"Alright, you three. Enough's enough." Lucy said as she sat her book down on the cushioned seat of the carriage. "I'm going to put you guys to sleep so that maybe I can get some too."

Three pairs of eyes widened in response. What was she going to do?

"Mira taught me a gentler version of her Dream Knock spell when I went on a job with her a few months ago." Lucy explained upon seeing the hint of fear in their eyes. "It won't knock you out immediately, but you'll definitely be asleep within 5 minutes."

Sting watched as Lucy lifted her hands up to her face and held them out flat before her. He took advantage of the next few seconds to notice the depths of Lucy's eyes. Lucy Heartfilia was technically 24 if you went by her birth year and the current year, X791. Practically the entire nation of Fiore had heard of their stasis on Tenrou Island—heard of the terror that was Acnologia. Regardless of whether she identified her age as 17 or 24, the maturity was evident her soft brown orbs. The sorrow, regret, and fright from those seven lost years were permanently etched into her being, manifested in the window that was her eyes. It was a trait that Sting realized he found truly endearing.

He continued watching the celestial spirit mage as she began casting her spell.

Lucy whispered the words "Dream Knock," as her hands glowed a bright green against the darkness. Three small orbs of light began to form above the plane of her hands and she gently blew them free. The little spheres were like bubbles, as they popped upon contact with each of the dragon slayers.

"There." She said, giving a small smile. "Now we can all get some much-needed sleep!" Lucy looked over at Natsu to see that he was already snoring and lightly giggled before standing up and rummaging through a few bags.

Sting felt as if he was in a dream-like trance, his body growing tired and his eyes heavy. He adjusted himself so that the right side of his body was leaning against the wall of the carriage, and rested his head on his shoulder. He was so tired that he couldn't talk, couldn't move. He was barely keeping his eyes open, but his desire to continue watching Lucy overcame him. As she turned around, he noticed that she was holding blankets in her arms. Gently, she unfolded one and wrapped it around Natsu before she turned toward the two Sabertooth slayers and did the same. As she leaned in near his face to tuck the blanket around him, he inhaled slowly and took in her scent. It was one he'd never experienced before—she smelled of lavender and honey.

When Lucy finished covering him up, she moved back over to her seat and sat down with the blanket she'd gotten out for herself. Happy, always preferring to cuddle with Lucy, crawled across Natsu's face and into the celestial wizard's lap. As he did this, she pulled a small bag up from beside her legs and opened it. She pulled out a fish and a small, cat-sized blanket decorated with fish bones. The small blue exceed's eyes lit up with such joy that Lucy couldn't help but chuckle.

As Happy began munching away on his fish underneath his blanket, she continued pulling items out of her bag. "Lector, Frosch." She called out. The two other exceeds, seated between Rogue and Sting, stared at her with uncertainty. "Don't think I'd forget about you guys! Come, have a snack. I even made little blankets for you guys as well." She said.

Frosch and Lector both looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure?" Lector asked, uncertain.

"Of course!" Lucy reassured, smiling—almost like a mother would to her child.

They hopped out of their seats by Sting and Rogue and walked over to Lucy's side of the carriage. She lifted them up and handed them each a little bundle that had one fish and one handmade blanket.

Realizing that he wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer, he let his eyes drift over to check on Rogue, who was in the same resting position just opposite to him. As he looked at Rogue, he realized the black-haired mage was staring at Lucy just as he had been a few moments ago, affection clear-cut in his dark eyes. Sting suddenly felt a wave of jealousy overcome him. _What in the hell?_ He thought. Was he actually jealous over the fact that Rogue was looking at Lucy?

But he didn't even have time to answer his own question before sleep overcame him.

* * *

What woke Sting was not the blazing sunlight shining in his eyes or the obnoxious snoring of the fire dragon slayer across from him, but the fact that the carriage had stopped moving. He lifted the blue blanket off himself and yawned, noticing that Rogue was also awake and sitting up. Recognizing that his partner's aura was off, he observed him closer and realized that he was pouting.

He followed his eyes over to one Lucy Heartfilia. This time Sting didn't feel a pang of jealousy hit him. Why? Because he knew Rogue was pouting that Frosch had cuddled with Lucy all night instead of him. He wouldn't lie, he himself felt a little betrayed by Lector. All three exceeds in the carriage were passed out in a heap of fish bones and tiny fuzzy blankets atop the sleeping blonde Fairy.

"She sleeps so peacefully…" Sting whispered.

Rogue watched as a soft smile graced his lifelong friend's lips. He closed his eyes and softly shook his head, smiling. Sting was allowing himself to be influenced so easily.

Breaking the silence, Rogue stated, "Well, I guess we have arrived," glancing out of the carriage window. The sun was glaring off the calm ocean waters at an angle, indicating that it was late afternoon.

"About damn time!" Natsu shouted, startling Rogue and Sting. When had the snoring stopped?

Natsu lifted his arms up in the air to stretch them. "Where's Happy?" He wondered aloud. His dark eyes scanned the cabin of the carriage until they landed on the heap of two sleeping bodies next to him.

At this point, Lector and Frosch had already awoken and were both perched atop their rightful dragon slayer's shoulder.

Natsu leaned over Lucy's sleeping figure and gently brushed the hair out of her eyes, letting his hand rest on her face as he slowly stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Sting watched, in shock. Were they together? Why did he never even think of that possibility?!

Natsu took hold of her shoulder and gently shook her, causing her eyes to flutter open. "Hey, Luce. We're here." Natsu whispered, throwing her a thumb's up.

Lucy sat up, Happy still in tow, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She too noted how the sun was beginning to set in the sky. "Did we really sleep for that long? It's practically evening" She yawned.

As she stood to open the door to the carriage, she was pushed aside by Natsu who was eager to pick a fight with Gray. This caused Lucy to trip on a pile of everyone's blankets that had been strewn onto the floor when they woke up. She threw her hands out in front of her to brace herself as she landed on something hard and… warm? She opened her eyes and blinked a few times before realizing that she had landed on some _one_ … who was hard… and warm. She felt her face heating up at the perverted thought. _Pull yourself together, Lucy. You act like you've never seen a nice body before._

She looked up apologetically into a pair of alert deep blue eyes. Her hands were still resting on his toned abdomen and in her effort to stabilize her balance and remove herself from the situation, she ended up sliding her hands further down his body until they got caught in the waistband of his pants.

Unable to take the embarrassment any longer, Lucy shrieked. She still hadn't caught her balance and if it weren't for his suspenders, both she and Sting Eucliffe's pants would be on the ground right now. Before she could make an even bigger fool of herself, she felt a pair of strong hands grab her waist and lift her up into the air.

Sting lifted Lucy onto her feet and kicked the pile of blankets to the side as he set her back down. His face heated up as he realized he was unable to deny it any longer. He was definitely attracted to the golden-haired beauty of Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia. Her shirt had ridden up to expose her midriff when he had grabbed her, and he let his hand linger on her bare waist longer than necessary before sliding it down to her hips and dropping his arm back by his side. _Shit_. _This is not what I needed right now._ He grunted in frustration.

Thinking she had made him mad, Lucy continuously bent over in deep bows, apologizing over and over again. "I'm so, soo sorry. I'm such a clutz, I didn't mean to, oh god please don't think I'm a pervert, gaaah!" She scrunched her face and slapped her cheeks to compose herself before practically leaping out of the carriage to go find Erza and Levy.

Sting took a deep breath before he too exited the carriage behind Rogue, who had witnessed the entire thing. Rogue had laughed at him as soon as Lucy left the carriage, and Sting was _pissed_ about it. His thoughts were flooded with images of her face, with thoughts of what he would like to do to her. _Cut it out_ , he snapped at himself. _If Lucy is with Natsu, she is off limits_. He inwardly groaned. What was wrong with him? He just found Lucy attractive, this shouldn't be so hard. He found plenty of women attractive, but never once had they given him the headache that Lucy Heartfilia was right now.

As they stepped outside, they noticed the rest of the group was gathered around a tall, dark, stocky man dressed in nothing but a pair of red swim trunks. Sting assumed he was the client as Frosch and Lector guided the way toward everyone else. As they approached, the dark man looked their way and nodded his head at them in acknowledgement.

"Hello, welcome to Gallowstown! My name is Sal Connelly. I am the master of the local guild here, Griffin Knights." He stated, his deep voice bellowing as he spoke. "I was just telling your friends here that I will be providing you all with housing for the night so that you may start the job in the morning."

Sting and Rogue nodded in unison, picking up their bags to follow Mr. Connelly to their lodging. Sting ended up walking beside Lucy, as Rogue wound up engaged in a lively (for him) conversation with Gajeel.

Feeling the discomfort radiating from Sting, Lucy held her hand out and stopped the young Sabertooth master in his tracks. She stepped closer and looked him dead in the eyes. "Listen, I really am sorry for what happened in the carriage, but I really don't want you to hate me." She relaxed a little as she sighed, sporting that pouting face Sting found he liked so much. "Can we start fresh? I liked the little system we had going at lunch the other day, yaknow? I don't want to lose a friend just because I'm uncoordinated." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head.

Unaware that he had even tensed up, Sting felt his muscles relax. She wasn't mad at him. He threw on his usual goofy smile for her "Of course there's no hard feelings, Lucy!" He said coolly.

Lucy sighed in relief, and flashed her signature smile. The one that Sting swore was too heavenly and pure for this world.

His body acting of its own accord, Sting found himself leaning down toward her face. His lips brushed past her cheek, making her shiver, before he whispered into her ear, "But if you wanted a peek, you could have just asked."

Lucy stood stock-still, her breathing getting heavier as his hot breath blew into her ear. Sting slowly straightened back up, dragging his finger across her pale cheek before smirking at her and walking away.

In his head, however, Sting was _furious._ What in the ever-living hells did he just do? He tried to regret it, he really did. But seeing the look on her face when he pulled away was just too satisfying. _What do I do now_? He thought as he caught up with the rest of the group. Maybe taking down the serpent monster tomorrow will really help clear his head. _With Lucy's help_ , he reminded himself. Sting dragged his hands over his face and rubbed his eyes. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just to give everyone a rough estimate of how long this story is going to be, I have roughly 15-18 chapters planned for it. Thanks, again guys! You rock! ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

The sun had yet to rise by the time the team had to wake up for their job. No one had gotten much sleep, as Mr. Connelly had kept them all awake well into the night, explaining the do's and don'ts for the job. He had very pointedly explained that if the Fairy Tail and Sabertooth mages were to destroy anything that had not already been turned upside down, they would not receive payment and that their guilds would have to pay for the damages done. As soon as that little bit of information had been stated, all eyes had turned to Natsu and Gray. Soon after Mr. Connelly had finished explaining the details to them, Erza pulled the two young men aside to give them a "pep talk." They were to be on their best behavior today, and Erza gave a very detailed explanation of what body parts they would be missing at the end of the day if they were unable to fight the serpent without destroying anything.

"The beast usually shows up when the fishermen do," Sal explained. "We had to put fishing on hiatus after me and my men were unable to defeat it. Haven't seen the thing since. But I have told everyone to come back out this morning so that the monster will show up again."

"We must be extra careful then, since there will be innocent bystanders." Erza asserted, her eyes never leaving two particular mages.

As they arrived at the coast, villagers were seen huddling in groups, hesitant to get any closer to the water.

"Hey, cheer up you guys! Fairy Tail is here to save the day!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air. The villagers stared at him in worry. This guy was supposed to be their savior?

"Hey, don't forget about us, Natsu. Sabertooth is helping out with this one as well." Sting mentioned. He rolled his eyes as he strolled past the pink-haired Fairy Tail wizard.

Just as Natsu was about to reply, Lucy clamped her hand over his mouth. She was staring wide-eyed out into the water, mouth agape. As the group's eyes followed her line of sight, they noticed what she was staring at. A monstrous wave was rapidly making its way toward the coast. Two red glowing orbs could be seen through the water.

"Now we're talkin!" Gray shouted as he ran past the rest of his teammates toward the water, clothes long forgotten. He jumped into the air and threw his hands together as he came back down over the surface of the water. "Ice-Make: Ocean!" Gray thrust his hands into the water, instantaneously freezing the entire shore around him.

"Hell yeah, let's do this!" Natsu lept into the air, shooting fire out of his mouth as he ran across the ice toward the oncoming wave.

Everyone followed suit, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue taking the lead. Lucy chuckled as she realized Natsu and Gray's plan. Gray was freezing the water as they ran so that they could take the fight further away from the land and not have to worry about destroying anything. _Well done_ , she thought.

As they neared the enormous wave, Natsu inhaled deeply before unleashing an enormous Fire Dragon Roar into the water before him. A horrendous screeching sound was emitted from the monster before the wave dissipated and the serpent dove back into the depths of the sea. Everyone stopped in their tracks and waited for any sign of its return. When there was no sign of the sea serpent after a couple of minutes, everyone grumbled and sighed.

"Damn it, Natsu!" Lucy shouted. "Now we won't be able to see it if it decides to come back up!" She dropped down onto one knee and placed one hand flat on the ice and closed her eyes in concentration, hoping to sense the serpent's presence.

"I was kinda hoping I could just boil the thing to death." Natsu mumbled in response, crossing his arms.

"Wait." Lucy held up her hand, indicating everyone to be silent. After a few seconds, she abruptly stood up and turned to face everyone, her eyes wide. " _RUN."_ She yelled. But before anyone could react, the massive sea serpent broke through the ice and continued to emerge before them, standing nearly a hundred feet into the air. The rupturing of the ice caused all except the dragon slayers to fall into the water, as they had been saved by their flying exceeds.

Trying to stay afloat, Lucy searched frantically in the waters around her for Levy and Erza who had been knocked in with her. _There!_ She caught sight of them, but the water was too turbulent for them to stay afloat without drowning. She also saw the dragon slayers throwing their roars at the monstrous serpent, but their attacks seemed to have no effect on the scale-armored beast. Panicked, Lucy held her breath and reached for her keys. "Open! Gate of the water-bearer! Aquarius!"

The blue-haired celestial beauty rose out of the water before her. "Save them!" Lucy desperately shouted to Aquarius before being submerged again. Erza had managed to get out of the water almost immediately after she had summoned the zodiac spirit, and the scarlet-haired Fairy Tail mage was now focused on landing attacks on the sea serpent. _I need to focus on getting Levy out of the water then,_ Lucy told herself. Trying her best to stay afloat, Lucy began swimming over to small flailing solid-script mage. Levy had managed to create an oxygen mask for herself using her magic, but was still having trouble managing against the raging waters.

Understanding the gravity of the situation before her, Aquarius unleashed a powerful water attack from her urn, opening a gash in the serpent's side. Just as she did this, Lucy had managed to push Levy onto a remaining block of ice before the turbulence of the Water Bearer's attack and the thrashing of the serpent pulled the blonde into the depths of the dark sea.

"Let us take advantage of its injury!" Erza commanded. "Everyone, attack with as much power as you have. On the count of 3! Prepare yourselves! 1… 2… 3!"

Everyone unleashed a colossal attack against the wounded creature, a unison of fire, ice, iron, light, shadow, and sword. "There was no way it could have survived that." Erza hoped aloud as she stared before her. As if confirming her statement, the serpent screeched its last roar before falling back into the murky waters and sinking to the bottom. With the help of Aquarius, the fight had resolved a lot quicker than everyone had imagined.

"Did Aquarius return to the celestial spirit world?" Levy wondered, searching the calming waters. "Lucy pushed me out of the water, but… where is she?" Her voice was dripping with worry.

"Aquarius had unleashed an extremely powerful attack." Erza started. "She probably did not have enough energy to remain here. Lucy was… still in the water, was she not?" Erza asked, her brows knit with concern.

Sting was growing more alarmed as he scanned the surrounding ice and water. Natsu and Happy had already taken off to do an aerial search. _Where was she?_ He thought to himself as he continued searching. His blue eyes went wide as he noticed a small pink cardigan floating several meters from the water. That was the cardigan Lucy was wearing.

Panicked, Sting dove into the water. He closed his eyes and concentrated his effort in scanning its depths for Lucy's magical signature. _There!_ It was a faint, but it was definitely there. Holding a glowing hand out before him to light the way, the Sabertooth mage swam in the direction he had sensed the small pulse of magic energy come from.

"Where did Sting go?" Lector asked no one in particular.

Picking up the small pink cardigan that had floated toward the ice, Rogue sighed. "Lucy must have never made it out of the water." He answered the small brown exceed. "There is nothing we can do now except wait."

"What do you mean 'wait'?!" Natsu shouted at the shadow dragon slayer. He heard Rogue's statement as he and Happy had returned from searching the waters from above within a 1-mile radius. "Lucy is _drowning_ , and you just want to _wait_?!" The fire slayer yanked off his scarf and tossed it toward his blue exceed, sprinting toward the water. But before he could jump in, he was brusquely yanked back by his arm.

"Do not take Sting for a fool!" Rogue yelled, his eyes wide with anger. "It will not do anybody _any_ good if you go and get yourself lost in the waters too." He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to compose himself. "Sting is an excellent wizard. After all, he is the master of the Sabertooth guild. He is capable of this. He _will_ get her."

Taken aback by Rogue's outburst, everyone remained silent as they just stood there and waited for what felt like hours.

"I can sense him." Lector said, looking back and forth to search for where he felt the magical signature coming from. "He's over there!" He pointed his paw toward a small pale dot off in the distance. "Happy, let's go!" He shouted, taking off to fly toward his best friend.

"Aye!" Happy shouted, following suit.

They flew for nearly a quarter of a mile before they reached two floating figures. Sting was holding Lucy's limp body with one arm and paddling with the other. Relieved, the two exceeds swooped down and grabbed the two mages. Happy took Lucy from Sting, growing more worried as he noticed she was unconscious.

"She's going to be fine, Happy. She's breathing. She coughed up most of the water out of her lungs earlier. That's all that matters." Sting stated.

Happy let out a sigh of relief as he noted the white dragon slayer's state. The blonde male had lost his fur vest in the waters and his face revealed his fatigue. Crying tears of gratitude, Happy exclaimed his thanks toward the Sabertooth master. Their job here was done.

* * *

Too exhausted to travel through the night as they had on the way there, the Fairy Tail/Sabertooth team used a very minute portion of their earnings to stay at an inn in Crocus. They had gotten two rooms for the night, one for the guys and one for the ladies.

However, as soon as everyone had gotten to their rooms and set their luggage down, the Fairy Tail mages were ready to celebrate their victory.

"You guys gonna join us?" Natsu asked, standing in the doorway of their room.

"Yeah, we'll be down in a minute." Sting replied, to which Natsu nodded before taking off toward the bar with Lector and Frosch to join the rest.

Sting ran his hand through his hair as he sat on the edge of the bed he and Rogue were to share for the night.

"Sting." Rogue stated, moving to stand before his blonde friend. "Why?" was all the shadow slayer asked. He knew Sting would know what he was truly asking. Why had he told everyone not to tell Lucy that he had saved her? Why had he made everyone lie to Lucy and say that she was pulled out of the water just as she passed out? Why was he being so distant and quiet?

"I just… I needed time to think." Sting said. He sighed, knowing that answer would not satisfy his lifelong friend. "I knew that if Lucy found out I had saved her, she would feel obligated to repay me somehow. I didn't want that. She's haunting my mind enough as it is." He stared at the ground as he continued. "I don't know why I did it, I really don't. I just saw that pink jacket floating in the water and my mind was wiped blank of everything except the thought that I needed to go save her. That she needed me."

Sting lifted his head and Rogue noted the confusion in his friend's deep blue eyes.

"I've never really felt this way about a woman before, Rogue. At first, I thought that maybe it was just a physical attraction, but it's not. I really... really like her." He paused before continuing. "But there's nothing I can do about it if she's with Natsu." He shook his head.

"You don't know that." Rogue stated simply, rolling his eyes. "Quit making assumptions and just ask him."

Sting stared at his friend for what felt like an eternity. He was right. Sting had been torturing himself with the thought that he wanted his role model's girl. But he had no concrete proof that they were together. He stood up and chuckled. "Who knew you'd be good at giving advice."

Rogue smirked in response and nodded his head as Sting made his way out of their room.

The two wandered downstairs toward the bar. They knew where to find the Fairy Tail wizards before they even rounded the corner, as they could be heard shouting their cheers from their rooms on the fourth floor of the building. Upon spotting Natsu, they made their way around the tables and toward the tipsy fire dragon slayer.

Sting ordered himself and Rogue a set of drinks. They argued with Natsu about who was the strongest wizard in Fiore for half an hour, but he was unable to take the pain of his curiosity any longer. Sting looked at his pink-haired Fairy Tail friend. "Natsu, are you and Lucy dating?" He was just going to have to be blunt about it with Natsu if he wanted an answer.

To which Natsu's reply was to spit his drink out on the table before him. He looked at Sting in confusion, eyes wide. "What?! Of course not!" He shouted.

But as he noticed Sting raise his eyebrow in curiosity, clearly taken aback, the Dragneel sighed and set his mug down to explain further. "Lucy is… She's my best friend." He started as his eyes wandered to look at the beautiful blonde in question. She was laughing with Levy and Erza over by the bar. His lips turned upward into a small smile. "I've entertained the idea of dating Lucy, but I stop myself each time. She's too important to me. I can't give Lucy the love that she deserves. Not like that, at least. You see, Lucy deserves a guy that is going to give her everything that he has, who can give her his very being. I can't do that. I'm too sidetracked in my quest for Igneel and to get stronger. Lucy means everything to me, believe that. But I can't give her my entire world. And that'd be what she deserves."

After Natsu finished, the two Sabertooth mages just sat there staring at Natsu in shock. Noticing this, Natsu stood from the table. "But enough of this sappy stuff. I'm going to go get another drink." He stated before yelling at Gajeel to pay for the next round.

Sting felt relief unlike any that he had ever experienced before as Natsu walked further and further away.

As if seeing the light click on in his friend's head, Rogue let out sarcastic laugh. "You know. Just because Natsu isn't interested in dating Lucy doesn't mean that you can just go pursue her. If anything, you should be more worried. Remember: The Dragneel will kill anyone who makes her cry. So you better know what the hell you're doing before you try _anything_."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry it's been a few days. I have been working on this chapter on and off the past few nights after I got all of my school work done. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Sorry it's been a few days, guys! I'm working hard to get through this story, I promise! As always, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! x

* * *

Chapter 5

Sting slowly opened his heavy-lidded eyes as a feeling of déjà vu overcame him. The setting sun was shining into his face. The carriage had stopped. They were back in Magnolia.

He softly groaned as he sat up and sluggishly rubbed at his temples. This job had taken its toll on him. The two Sabertooth mages would have left back for the guild from Crocus, but there was paperwork that needed to be signed at the Fairy Tail guild. Sting sighed. He had never realized how much paperwork went into these jobs until he became the guild master.

His eyes roamed over his surroundings as he stood up. He was the last one in the carriage, save for Lector who was still sleeping. Sting's lips curved into a subtle smile as he noticed his exceed was bundled in the red blanket that Lucy had made for him. Not wanting to wake Lector, Sting slowly lifted the brown cat and cradled him in his arms as he exited the carriage. The Fairy Tail mages had already entered their guild hall, but Rogue was leaning against the wall by the main entrance waiting for him.

"Frosch has fallen in love with the blanket that Lucy made as well." Rogue stated as he opened the door to the guild hall. It was always the same with Fairy Tail: Makarov was sitting across the bar with his usual stein in hand, Mirajane was serving food, Juvia was indulging in Gray's return, Cana was drinking, and everyone else was huddled in groups around tables and the job board, talking loudly and enjoying themselves. The two Sabertooth slayers scanned the room for the familiar faces of Natsu and Gajeel, and when they found them taking seats at the bar next to Makarov, they walked over to join them.

"Welcome back!" Makarov held up his stein as a greeting. "I heard that you two kept these brats in check on the job. I thank you." He continued, shuddering at the thought of previous damage reports.

As Sting went to reply, he was interrupted by a soft voice calling his name.

"Sting! Over here!"

The blonde dragon slayer turned around, trying to find the origin of the voice. His palms got sweaty as he realized that Lucy was waving at him from an empty table. Not knowing what else to do, he excused himself as he walked over to the woman he realized he was growing increasingly more attracted to.

"Hey." He said as he approached the table she was sitting alone at. "What's up?"

"Would you sit down with me for a second, please?" She asked, her big honey brown eyes looking into his own.

Sting leaned his head to the side as he observed her more carefully. Those eyes that he found so endearing held something else in them this evening. Something Sting couldn't quite identify but that he knew was something that would make him like her even more. Too entranced to say anything, he eagerly slipped into the bench across from her.

"I wanted to talk to you… about the job." She started, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as a small smile played on her lips. "Natsu told me what you did."

Lucy watched as Sting's sapphire blue eyes widened. On impulse, she slowly reached across the table and took his hands into hers. Ignoring how his muscles tensed at the contact, she lowered her eyes down to look at the table as she attempted to put her feelings into words.

When Lucy shifted her gaze back up, she looked Sting dead in his eyes as her own began to glisten with tears. He realized now what it was that her eyes held.

Gratitude.

There was no need for words.

He pulled his hands free and enveloped hers in his own, squeezing gently so that she knew he understood the gratefulness that she wanted to convey. There was no need to thank him in the way that she wanted. To be able to read the depths of her eyes and the feeling of her soft hands against his calloused ones was enough for him. This was all he needed. Lucy smiled at him, and Sting felt an unusual sensation in his chest. _What is this?_ He wondered.

Confused, and trying not to let his emotions get the better of him, he released her hands and stood from the table. "Well, I need to get back to Makarov now." He stated lamely. He knew Lucy wasn't satisfied with this "talk" they had, but he couldn't do it right now. He didn't understand any of this.

Chuckling, Lucy stood as well, smoothing out the crumpled fabric of the khaki shorts she was wearing. Just as she did so, she was tackled by one Cana Alberona.

"Luuuuucyyy!" The alcoholic card user was pouting. "You promised you'd go to Blossoms with me tonight!"

 _Blossoms?_ Sting thought as he listened in on their conversation while walking back toward the bar.

"Oh yeah!" Lucy cried. "I've got to go home and change first though, I can't go to the club like this." She pointed at her wrinkled t-shirt and shorts.

"No time! You can borrow something of mine. We'll go upstairs, change, and fix our hair. If we don't get there soon, all of the decent guys will be gone." Cana stated matter-of-factly, dragging Lucy with her.

 _So, Lucy's going to a club with Cana to meet guys_. Sting furrowed his brows, frustrated. It's not like she knew of his feelings, so how could he even be angry? But did she not just feel anything for him a moment ago? He could have sworn he felt something between them at the table. But maybe he was just overthinking things? He shook his head, trying to ignore his thoughts and feelings as he turned his attention back to Makarov.

"I recommend you boys find a decent inn for the night and head back to your guild in the morning. I would offer our men's dorm, but it's under repairs at the moment." Makarov sighed.

Sting and Rogue both nodded before they turned back around and sat down at the nearest table and sighed. They were both tired of all the traveling.

"So tell me what was up with Lucy just a second ago." Rogue raised an eyebrow, leaning back and crossing his arms.

"Yeah, please do." Gajeel chimed as he and Panther Lily slid onto the bench next to Sting. "Levy left a while ago when she decided that we were gonna tag along with Cana and Lucy." He added upon seeing the skeptical look on the blonde's face.

The Eucliffe sighed as he drug his hands through his hair and laid his elbows on the table. "Salamander told her that I saved her back in Gallowstown."

"Ha!" Gajeel barked. "You should have been expecting that, honestly. Salamander couldn't keep a secret from Lucy if his life depended on it."

Before he could say anything else on the matter, a small hand clamped over his mouth as Levy whispered her warning. "Lucy is coming, so you guys better figure out something else to talk about."

As if a reflex, Sting's eyes immediately began searching for the celestial spirit mage upon hearing her name. However, he regretted it as soon as his eyes landed on her. Rogue must have felt the same, as Sting saw him shifting uncomfortably in his seat from the corner of his eye. Lucy Heartfilia was a sight to behold. The buxom blonde was dressed in a skin-tight navy blue halter dress that was not only slit all the way up to her hips, but had a huge section of fabric missing around the bust, accentuating Lucy's cleavage.

Sting had never wanted to cry more. He painfully tore his eyes away to look back at Rogue, who had turned a deep shade of red. Gajeel was in the same boat, however his eyes were on the petite blue-haired woman standing before him. Levy looked beautiful as well, dressed in a low-cut yellow dress lined with black lace.

"I'm hoping that tonight will give me some inspiration." Levy whispered suggestively to Gajeel, who was beginning to sweat.

As Lucy finally reached the table, she slid into the vacant seat next to Rogue. The panicked look in the shadow slayer's eyes would have been comical if Sting wasn't feeling a slight pang of jealousy.

"So Master told me that you guys were going to be staying the night in town!" Lucy exclaimed. "If you guys want, you should join us at the club and then I'll walk you to an inn that's near my place."

"That sounds great, Lucy!" Sting shouted, a little too loudly. Rogue kicked him under the table, and the Sabertooth master shot a sympathetic look toward his friend as he noticed he was glaring at him.

"Perfect! Let's go ahead and leave, Cana said she would meet us there." Lucy said, carefully getting out of the booth. Even she was aware of how revealing her outfit was.

* * *

Blossoms was the new club that had just opened up in Magnolia a few weeks before. It became extremely popular in the short time it had been open, so the group was only able to get in because Cana knew the owner well.

Sting walked as closely as he could to Lucy, and unbeknownst to him, she was doing the same. Lucy was becoming flustered at all of the women staring at Sting and Rogue. Hell, even Cana had let her eyes linger on Sting too long! _Wait, what?_ Lucy wondered. Since when did she care if other girls looked at the blonde dragon slayer standing next to her?

"Hey, Lu! There's an empty table over in that corner, let's all go sit!" Levy had to shout to be heard over the music. The bluenette grabbed Lucy's hand and dragged her along, the three men following suit. Cana had abandoned them practically as soon as she had walked through the door, and was now dancing with a few select men.

Lucy was honestly relieved. She hadn't really wanted to come and meet anybody, and she was oddly giddy that Sting had decided to tag along with them.

As soon as they got to the empty booth, Levy offered to pay for their first round of drinks and took Lucy with her to go get them.

All three dragon slayers groaned as soon as soon as they were alone. "What in the hell are they doing to us?!" Gajeel rubbed at his temples.

"They look like princesses!" Frosch shouted from Rogue's shoulder.

"Are we sure it's a good idea to let them go alone?" Rogue asked, worried. He was not blind. He knew that both Lucy and Levy were extremely attractive women, and he did not fail to notice that the majority of the men in the club seemed to think so as well. It was not hard to notice the scowls and glares the two Fairy Tail beauties were receiving from the other women standing around.

"Yeah. Trust me, I'd hate to be the sucker that touches either of those two without permission." The iron slayer snickered. "We should really only worry about them being alone if they're drunk. Those two get too giggly and nice when they've had a few drinks, so be warned." He added.

Everyone had paid for at least two rounds of drinks each, and even Lector and Lily had been sipping on a few beverages themselves. Frosch had already fallen asleep in the empty space between Rogue and the wall before the first round had even gotten to the table. There was no doubt that each one of them was drunk. Sting and Rogue felt oddly at ease being so vulnerable in a public place. They'd never drank outside of the Sabertooth guild hall before, and found that with the right people, it was extremely enjoyable.

Lucy was standing between the two Sabertooth mages, a hand on either of their shoulders to keep herself balanced. Gajeel and Levy had parted ways with them as soon as they exited Blossoms, and Lucy had an idea of what they were in such a rush for. Especially since Lily had asked to stay at Lucy's for the night.

They were all laughing at a joke Lector had made when Lucy suddenly stopped in her tracks. Sting looked at her questioningly before she snapped her fingers as if remembering something. "I was s'posed to take y'guys to an inn!" She shouted, as embarrassed as she could get while leaning on two attractive men and wearing a dress that she was practically half naked in.

"Ohhh, jyeah!." Rogue slurred.

"Y'know what?" Lucy stomped her foot. "s'long as y'guys don't care, y'guys c'n sleep at the my place!" She smiled victoriously as she pointed at herself.

Too drunk to overanalyze the situation, the two Sabertooth mages put on huge smiles and gave Lucy a thumbs up.

She smiled. "Onward!"

The trio gradually sobered up on the walk to Lucy's, but they were still drunk as they stumbled through her front door.

"Wow!" Sting and Rogue said, baffled. "This is a nice place, Lucy!" The two best friends added simultaneously.

She giggled. "Let me go change real quick! The bed mats and spare blankets are on the bottom shelf over there."

The two men grabbed said mats and blankets and laid them out on the floor before they began to strip off their outer layers so they could sleep comfortably. When Lucy emerged from the bathroom, her eyes widened in mock horror before she broke down in a fit of laughter.

Both Sting and Rogue found themselves giggling with her before they asked, "What's so funny?"

"Your arms!" She screamed, using one hand to cover her mouth as she laughed and the other to point at the young Sabertooth master's arms. She walked toward him to get a closer look. "I've _never_ seen them without your arm sleeves on!" Her eyes went wide as she poked at his biceps. " _You even have tan lines_."

Rogue took a moment to look at Sting and make sure they were on the same page before they both busted out laughing. It had truly been a night to remember.

* * *

Sting woke to an incredible headache. His skull felt as if it was going to burst. Where was he? Why was this bed so… hard? He held his breath as a feeling of familiarity hit him: this smell. It was… lavender and honey. His blue eyes widened as the realizations occurred to him. Using the moonlight shining through the single window in the room, he propped himself up on his left elbow and looked around.

He was lying in a jumbled mess of blankets and pillows on the floor. Lucy was… _next to him_?! His heart raced as he began to panic. _What had happened_? His eyes continued scanning the room for clues. Lector and Frosch were sleeping on the couch. Rogue was laying sideways on the floor next to him, his head was… In Lucy's lap?

That's when it hit him. All of the memories from the night. He let out a relieved sigh. Sting looked over to the sleeping Lucy Heartfilia and smiled tenderly. She was so warm, so kind, so… right. He shook his head, unable to stop smiling. What was he doing?

Once he had laid back down and allowed himself to close his eyes once more, he noticed something unusual in his right hand. He squeezed to figure out what it was, and his breath stopped. It was Lucy's hand. Why did it feel so familiar to be doing this? So familiar to be asleep next to her, holding her hand? Really, what was happening?

He fell asleep with a smile as he finally understood the sensation he was feeling.

His heart was soaring.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

" _Please_!" Sting shouted, begging. " _Please_ don't make me do this!" He was on the verge of tears, his face contorted in pain. His pleading blue eyes were directed toward his lifelong friend, the Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"I'm sorry, but it's something that must be done, Sting!" Rogue shouted back as he slammed his fist into the wall, completely unfazed by the small droplets falling from Sting's eyes.

"I don't know how much more I can take..." The blonde spoke softly as he lowered his eyes down to look at his calloused hands, contemplating life. "The pain is unbearable." He whimpered.

"It is the price you must pay for your strength." Rogue asserted. "Yukino, Orga, Rufus. You know what to do." He added as the three mages entered the room, their eyes hard set, holding no sympathy for the Light Dragon Slayer.

The young Sabertooth master's eyes widened in fear as they approached. He wished it was a nightmare, that he would wake up at any second. But he knew it wasn't. He watched in horror as they set the object of his distress down before him.

"Finish. The. Paperwork." Rogue growled, enunciating each word for emphasis. "We know you don't have carpal tunnel syndrome." His red eyes narrowed into slits.

Completely defeated and outnumbered, Sting threw his face onto his folded arms that were strewn across the mahogany desk of his office and sighed. He had really been hoping everyone would buy that one.

"This is the last of the stack." Yukino mentioned. "If you finish these today, you'll be able to have a day off tomorrow!" She exclaimed, trying to encourage the inexperienced master. It would be nice to not be treading on thin ice all the time once he got this paperwork finished.

When Sting had made it obvious that he was going to give no response, the three Sabertooth mages sighed and exited the room. Exhausted from his title as a glorified babysitter, Rogue slumped into the reading chair adjacent to the desk.

Knowing that he needed something to motivate his friend, the young black-haired mage smiled as his eyes fell upon a small pink lacrima next to Sting's arms. He reached over and picked it up, rolling the small stone around in his hand. "You can call Lucy when you're finished." He stated calmly as he looked up, anticipating his partner's reaction.

Upon hearing her name, Sting bolted upright, eyes frantically searching for the pink compact communications lacrima Lucy had given the two Sabertooth mages. He spotted its location as a smirking Rogue was slipping it into the pocket of his dark gray robes. Understanding his friend's tactic, Sting threw his head back and groaned as he picked up a pen and scooted the first stack of papers closer to him.

A month and a half had passed since the night out at Blossoms, and the dragon slayers had yet to see Fairy Tail's celestial wizard since then. As Rogue sat in the chair supervising Sting, he reminisced about that morning after—They had woken up in Lucy's apartment with the usual hangover package, complete with a pounding migraine. He chuckled as he recalled waking up strewn across Lucy's lap. He had initially been shocked, but when he realized that feelings of comfort and familiarity outweighed any of embarrassment, he was able to easily laugh it off.

Lucy Heartfilia had grown to become a precious friend to Rogue Cheney. When she had woken later that morning, Rogue had been surprised when her eyes reflected nothing but happiness. Lucy had been truly happy to spend time with the Sabertooth mages. Held absolutely no regret in letting them stay with her and allowing them to intrude upon her life. The warmth of her soul radiated from her being and effortlessly conquered the hearts of others.

And it was evident that she had conquered a particular blonde dragon slayer's heart moreso than others'. When Lucy had given the twin dragons that communication lacrima before they had left that morning, Rogue swore Sting's heart burst through his chest. He was head over heels in love, and he didn't even realize it. So though they haven't seen each other in months, the three mages, Lector, and Frosch had all been keeping in touch. They'd been speaking at least every two days, if not every day. Lucy always calls when she sees or hears something that makes her think of them, and they call when they come up with a joke or need cooking advice. Lector and Frosch had even been caught calling her and asking her to bring them presents.

Rogue didn't know why the two blondes hadn't admitted their feelings for each other yet, but he knew the day would come soon when they would no longer be able to deny them.

He reached up to release the hair from his ponytail and leaned his head back to relax against the chair. His eyes slowly slid closed and he smiled, glad that his friend had found someone who shone just as brightly as he did.

* * *

A soft knock sounded from Lucy's front door as she pulled a decadent chocolate cake out of her small white oven.

"Natsu! Gray!" Lucy yelled harshly as she set the cake down and turned the oven off. "Quit fighting and answer the damn door!" The vein bulging on her forehead was on the verge of bursting.

The two scrambled toward the door as they noticed the red demonic gleam in their blonde friend's eyes. When they pulled the door open, they were greeted by one Erza Scarlet. Her dark eyes went wide as her nose was assaulted with the scent of the chocolate cake. She pushed the fire and ice wizards aside and followed alluring aroma into the kitchen.

"Lucy." She whispered, eyes only on the dessert cooling on the stove. "Please describe what type of cake you are making."

 _Shit._ There wasn't going to be any cake left tonight. "Chocolate cake with whipped frosting and fresh strawberries." Lucy answered hesitantly.

"Fantastic!" Erza shouted victoriously, a grin spreading across her face. "I shall speak business with you until the cake is prepared." She stated matter-of-factly. The scarlet-haired mage leisurely walked over to the lone bed against the wall and sat down.

"I have a job for us." She started. Upon noting the gleam in the two males' eyes, she quickly added, "This does not concern you or Gray, Natsu."

Lucy's eyes widened a little at the news. She was definitely used to going on jobs with Erza, but she rarely went without Natsu and Gray with them. "What's the job?" She questioned, allowing the curiosity to consume her. She continued preparing the ingredients to finish the cake as the requip mage explained.

"Well, I suppose it's not so much a job as it is an investigation." Erza clarified. "As you all know, I've been in contact with Jellal lately. During his travels, he felt an eerie magical aura emanating from the mountains near Oak Town. He has asked for our assistance in investigating it further. He asked for you specifically, Lucy. Along with Sting Eucliffe of the Sabertooth guild."

Lucy's mouth hung open in shock. Why did Jellal need her and Sting, of all people?

"He felt that both your Celestial Spirit Magic and Sting's Light Dragon Slayer magic would be most compatible with his own Heavenly Body Magic, as they too are stellar-based magic."

"Wait, wait, wait." Gray interrupted, the frustration evident in his deep voice. "That sounds really dangerous. I don't understand why we can't at least tag along. I don't like the idea of Lucy going into something that risky without us there."

At this, Erza's eyes darkened. "Do you doubt Jellal and Sting's abilities?" She paused, before chuckling darkly. "Better yet," She stood, slowly stalking over to the small table Natsu and Gray sat at and slamming her fist into the table. "Do you doubt **_my_** abilities?" Her eyes twitched as she stared into the depths of the cold ice-make wizard.

Natsu had thought about saying something as well, but taking note of the tension in the room around him, he decided to keep his mouth shut for once. Erza was dead serious. Yeah, he didn't like the idea of Luce going alone either, but he knew if there were any others that could protect her as well as he could, it would be the bunch that was already going with her for this.

"I understand your concerns, Gray. You are correct. From what Jellal has explained to me, this is an extremely dangerous investigation. The dark aura he senses sounds horrendous, derived from pure hatred." She paused, crossing her arms over her iron-clad chest.

"Personally, I would love for the two of you to tag along. However, this investigation is going to require a certain amount of stealth that two particular mages I know are completely unable to comprehend." She snapped, clearly unhappy that she was having to explain the delicacy of the situation to the two numbskulls.

"Let's calm down, guys." Lucy sighed, putting the last of the strawberries on top of the now frosted cake. "I am happy to accept the offer and be able to assist in any way I can. Besides, Sting will be there." She stated further, a smile playing on her lips.

"It is settled then." Erza said, digging through Lucy's kitchen drawers for a knife. "I shall contact Jellal and let him know that you will be coming. Lucy, please contact Sting for us. We plan to leave tomorrow afternoon."

At this point, half of the cake was crossing the threshold of the front door in a to-go container with the scarlet Fairy.

"Be safe, Luce." Natsu and Gray both pouted as they got up to leave as well.

"You know I will." She smiled, handing them each the last of the cake as they walked out the door.

* * *

Sting had finally finished the last of the paper work that he had been ambushed with that morning. It had taken him 9 hours and 36 minutes. He knew this because he counted each second until he was able to talk to Lucy again. Just as he was putting the last of the demonic papers into their folders to be stored away, Rogue walked through the door, holding a small glowing pink lacrima in front of his face.

"Ah, here we are. Have a good night, Lucy." The shadow slayer smiled. He passed the small stone to his friend and waved his goodbyes.

"Luce!" Sting exclaimed, smiling from ear-to-ear. His heart was pounding in his chest, bursting from the wonderful feeling of being filled with such happiness.

"Hey, you!" She called back, giggling. "Are you going to be free for the next few days?" Lucy asked.

His heart rate increased. "Of course." He said absentmindedly, not giving thought to any actual plans he might have.

Lucy explained the situation to him carefully, being sure not to leave out any important details.

"I've got your back, Luce." Sting whispered, smiling softly. He could sense that she was still uneasy about the ordeal. They said their goodnights and Sting set the pink lacrima down on his desk. The next few days were going to be a challenge.

Jellal Fernandes was a mighty wizard. If he thought the aura was so dangerous, then it must truly be formidable. However, the overwhelming sensation of knowing he was going to be seeing his beautiful Fairy tomorrow eased the anxiety of his heart.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in over a week! I've been crazy busy. I had 4 exams, a paper, and a presentation due, so it'd been one of those weeks.

I apologize that the chapter was kind of short, but I just wanted to introduce that things are about to pick up in the next chapter. Speaking of, I wanted to reiterate the rating of this fanfiction. I don't take ratings lightly, so I wanted to give a warning about the chapter to come. Not spoiling anything, but there may or may not be sexual content.. *nervous laughter*

If you are uncomfortable with that kind of writing, please let me know and I can write an alternative version for you!

As always, until next time!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Sorry it's been so long, guys! I'm in South Korea right now visiting family and internet has been hard to come by.

 **Warning: Lemon alert**

* * *

Chapter 7

Thunder roared from the dark sky as a pair of honey brown orbs landed on a male figure cloaked in black. Distinct strands of electric blue hair could be seen jutting out from underneath the hood. As the three mages further advanced toward him, Jellal Fernandes pushed the fabric out of his face and slowly bowed his head in greeting.

"Erza, Lucy, Sting. It is a pleasure to see you all again." His deep voice rang out amidst the eerie silence of the surrounding atmosphere. Jellal ran his pale fingers through his hair as his eyes lingered on a particular woman with scarlet red hair. He pulled open the small wooden door he had been waiting next to, lifting his hand and motioning for everyone to enter the building.

"This is the Laurel Inn. The owner, Mr. Gorou, has been a close acquaintance of mine for years. He has been informed of our arrival and has agreed to accommodate us while we're in town." Jellal explained as the party approached the check-in counter.

The small, elderly clerk looked up from the newspaper she was reading, intimidated at first by the small, exotic group of mages. Upon further inspection of Jellal, however, her eyes softened and a subtle sense of relief could be seen washing over her. "You must be Mr. Gorou's special friend." She smiled. "Two of our largest single king rcirooms are being cleaned for you at this very moment, so if you wouldn't mind waiting at the bar, I will come get you all when it's ready. Your rooms will be 408 and 409."

As they all sat down at the dimly lit bar, Jellal ordered everyone a round of drinks. "While we're waiting, I'd like to go ahead and discuss the details with you all before we head to the rooms." He shrugged his dark cloak off, revealing a skin-tight black tank top that hugged his sculpted torso.

Lucy held in a giggle as she noticed that Erza's breathing had become labored upon the sight. "Yes, please." She whispered.

At that, Lucy couldn't help but to let a small snicker escape her. It seemed Sting had caught the innuendo as well, as his shoulders could been seen shaking in a silent fit of laughter as he held a hand over his mouth to cover his grin.

Though he was one of the brightest and strongest wizards known, Jellal remained oblivious to the hilarity of the situation as he passed everyone their drinks before continuing. "I have reason to believe that a new Dark Guild has formed within these mountains. There has been a perpetual storm system of abnormal energy hovering above one certain spot about three kilometers into its depths." He lifted the small glass cup to his lips and threw the amber liquid back quickly, setting his empty glass down on the table. "I tried to get to the eye of the storm once before, but the closer I got, the more unbearable the malevolent energy became. I fear we have a truly formidable foe ahead of us."

"Will the four of us really be sufficient for this, then?" Sting furrowed his brows, holding his hand up to signal for another round of shots.

"No." Jellal stated simply. "I wanted you three purely for gathering intel. I would truly prefer not to engage if we come across anybody, but on the off chance that we do, I feel yours and Lucy's magic types would be conducive to combat their energy."

Everyone sat in silence as they downed their second round of drinks. "Any questions?" The heavenly body magic user asked, his dark eyes shifting slowly from face to face. Regardless, there wasn't much more he could explain anyways. That's why they were all there in the first place—fear of the unknown.

"No." Erza smirked, her nerves now calmed. "I believe the four of us are just as formidable as any adversaries we may come across. There is no reason to fret."

Jellal chuckled. "As I expected from the great Erza Scarlet." His eyes lingered on Erza's as if conveying an untold message between the two of them.

The increasing sexual tension between the two did not go unnoticed by Lucy, and she cleared her throat as she rose from the table. "I'd better not have any more drinks tonight." She laughed nervously, her eyes flickering to Sting who was seemingly entranced by a small splinter in the wooden table to notice her gaze. "I'm going to head to the women's bath for the time being. Hopefully the rooms will be finished by then."

She swung her small white duffel bag over her shoulder and casually waved her dismissal as she walked toward the other end of the lobby.

* * *

Lucy, always in a good mood after a relaxing bath, was humming in delight as she waltzed back toward the table where two figures remained seating. But upon the sight before her, she stopped dead in her tracks and ducked behind the check-in counter, holding her index finger to her lips from the incredulous stare the clerk was directing toward her. She stealthily peaked over the counter to spy on the two mages with ridiculously striking hair colors. Their hands were intertwined, and the hidden passion reflected in their eyes was unmistakable. She couldn't help the surprised squeak that slipped from her mouth.

But wait.

' _Where in the hell is Sting?!'_ She thought, her eyes searching frantically for the fellow blonde that was nowhere in sight.

The rooms must have been finished while she was bathing. He had probably retreated as soon as they announced the rooms were ready.

Upon hearing the mouse-like squeal from her friend, Erza left the bar and approached the counter. A smile was plastered across her face.

 _She's so happy._ Lucy's heart constricted in joy for Erza.

The scarlet haired beauty leaned down upon spotting her fellow Fairy Tail comrade. "Hey Lucy," she whispered excitedly. "I think Jellal wants to stay with me tonight!"

Erza was glowing with happiness as she threw Lucy a thumbs up. Lucy was so incredibly happy for her friend. This was a moment she knew Erza had been waiting for for _years_. However—

"But… Your room is my room." Lucy reminded her.

At this, Erza's shoulders slumped, the disappointment visible in her eyes. "Ah. I forgot."

Defeated, Lucy threw her hands up in front of her, shaking them furiously to indicate her friend to stop worrying. "You know what, I'll just get a separate room for myself tonight." She smiled. "I'm so happy for you, Erza."

The sensation of unadulterated excitement that flickered to life on the requip mage's face had been well worth it. Erza mouthed a 'thank you' to Lucy as she strode back over to the seats where her blue-haired companion waited.

Lucy was rather disheartened, however, when the clerk kindly informed her that their two rooms were the last they had available. She inwardly cursed as she slowly trudged to the fourth floor where her heart began racing as she drew closer to her destination: 408.

In 408, the Sabertooth guild master that she knew she was growing increasingly attracted to was probably sleeping. Lucy had tried denying it for months. Her excuses of "It's just a physical attraction" and "We're too good of friends" were wearing thin on her nerves. How was she expected to share a bedroom with the man who made had been making her heart flutter from simply breathing? She was doomed.

 _Knock, knock._

Sting raised an eyebrow in confusion. He figured Jellal would have just come in instead of bothering with knocking. He would just wait a little bit longer to see if maybe—

 _Knock, knock_.

Well, that clearly wasn't Jellal. He sighed as he reluctantly pushed the soft white comforter off of his body and went to answer the door.

His blue eyes went wide as he was greeted with a pair of hesitant honey-brown orbs equally as wide as his.

"Lucy? Is everything okay?" He asked worriedly as he pulled her into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Well… My room might have been switched to this one." She rubbed the back of her head anxiously, explaining upon seeing his muddled expression. "I think nearly a lifetime's worth of sexual tension will be unleashed tonight."

The Sabertooth master's mouth hung open as realization slapped him across the face. Erza and Jellal had been acting very _friendly_ with each other now that he thought back on it.

But wait… He hadn't packed any pajamas since he'd fully been expecting to share a room with Jellal. All he had to sleep in was the lone pair of boxers he was currently already wearing. Sting was realizing this too late, however, as he looked down to catch Lucy raking his body with her eyes.

Her eyes were lingering on every sculpted crevice of his tanned abdomen.

"I…" She whimpered. She had known this was going to be torture, but she had not expecting _this_. "I didn't really bring anything to sleep in either." Tears were beginning to well in the corners of her eyes from sheer distress.

And that's when he couldn't hold his gentle affections back any longer. Sting lifted a hand and calmly placed it across one of her pink-tinted cheeks. The rough pad of his thumb swept under her eye to catch a fallen tear. He smiled softly as her beautiful brown orbs lifted to meet his. He strenuously reminded himself to breathe.

"Luce." He cooed. "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. It's just me. We've got a king-sized bed, so I promise to sleep on the edge and face the wall, okay?"

He always knew what to say. He always knew what she needed to hear. And this was exactly what the problem was.

She let out a breath she'd been holding and graced him with her bright smile. "Thank you, Sting." said Lucy, as she gently leaned into his touch.

* * *

The knowledge that warm, fresh coffee was coursing through their veins was the only thing keeping the two of them sane the next morning. Obviously, neither of them had gotten any sleep. Though they had promised to sleep on the furthest ends of the bed and face away from each other, the simple knowledge of knowing that the other was "sleeping" just a few feet away in only undergarments had kept them wide awake.

Erza and Jellal, however, were _glowing_.

 _'Damn them to hell,'_ was all the blondes could think as they observed their two friends and teammates' smiling faces.

But time to linger on these thoughts drew quickly to an end. About two kilometers into the mountains, the dark aura spiked immensely; the oppressive entity caused them to fall silent and still.

Jellal lifted his hand up to motion for the group to stop, however Sting slowly and carefully pushed his way toward the front of the group. The worried expression he was wearing put everyone on edge.

"Sting?" Questioned Jellal.

"This presence is very familiar," he responded in a hollow voice.

Erza abruptly yanked him behind the tree they had all been using as cover, her eyes begging the question they were all wondering: ' _Who?'_

"Minerva." Sting said quietly.

"You called?" A rich, velvety feminine voice rang out from the other side of the tree.

Everyone stilled. This was not part of the plan. Minerva was an immensely violent and powerful mage—any guild she would have associated herself with after Sabertooth was bound to be savage, in every respect of the word. Unable to hide any longer, the four mages stepped out from behind the tree to confront the owner of the voice.

It was just as they feared—there stood Minerva Orland, in the flesh. Her black hair that fell loose around her tanned shoulders a stark contrast to the bright blue dress she wore. What was worse was that she was not alone. Around her stood nearly two dozen men, all adorned in similar blood red robes. Sting took a mental note of the guild symbol stitched into the cloth—a geometric hexagram encompassed in a circle.

Minerva took it upon herself to continue. "I'd like to introduce you to the new dark guild I've founded." Her voice was dripping with bitterness. "We are Eternal Hex, and we are going to make your lives hell. Both Sabertooth and Fairy Tail, I've got bones to pick with the both of you."

Upon snapping her fingers, her guild members had the four vulnerable mages surrounded. The group continued to remain silent, choosing not to focus on what words to say but to remain cautious of any sudden movements. Jellal stole a quick glance upward into the sky. They were in the eye of the storm now. The weight of the darkness felt as though gravity had been amplified twofold.

The blue-haired mage steadied his feet firmly into the ground as he unleashed a small pulse of magic energy to signal his intentions to his comrades. They were going to have to fight.

Everyone understood immediately, and at once all four wizards unleashed powerful spells in every direction. Jellal jumped into the air and cast his Heavenly Body Magic spell, Meteor. His agile body tore through the air at an incredible speed, using melee attacks to knock two of their enemies unconscious.

Erza had immediately defaulted to her Heaven's Wheel Armor, the sheer force of of her attack sending several flying backwards.

Lucy's fleuve d'étoiles was swiping her opponents' feet from under them in rapid, articulate strokes.

Though Sting unleashed a monstrously destructive White Dragon's Roar, his mind was preoccupied. His eyes were continuously flickering over to check on Lucy of their own accord, and noticing this, a cold laugh bellowed out from Minerva.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Minerva flickered into existence near Lucy, using her territory magic to switch places with one of her men.

"This weak little thing?" Minerva asked, laughing in disbelief. "The Sabertooth guild really must be a joke now if its guild master would let himself fall in love with such a despicable piece of Fairy trash. Don't think I haven't noticed where your gaze keeps falling."

At this comment, every surrounding mage stopped their fighting and stared incredulously at the scene unfolding before them.

Sting froze in his tracks, staring at his former guildmate incredulously. Was she really going to do this to him? Now was _not the time_. His fists were clenched at his sides, the veins bulging from his arms as he physically shook from rage. He was seething with anger, but he allowed himself a glance at Lucy once more.

He wished he hadn't.

The look of fear etched into her widened eyes as she stared back at him made his heart wrench. Was this really how Lucy was going to find out about his feelings? And was this really how he found out that the feeling wasn't mutual?

Sting opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Nothing had prepared him for this.

"Weak, huh?" Lucy all but snorted in laughter as she turned her eyes back toward the founder of this new dark guild, Minerva Orland. Fairy Tail's Celestial Spirit wizard was radiating with contempt as she stared down her foe. "I had forgiven you for the brutality I was subjected to during last year's Grand Magic Games." Lucy spat, forcefully slapping her hands together before her, summoning magic energy. "But I will _not_ forgive you for this. Forming a dark guild out of spite for Fairy Tail and Sabertooth and bringing personal matter into the middle of a fight? You are truly despicable. How dare you taint the names of my friends and the names of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth!" She shouted as she pulled her hands apart a few inches.

A prism of pure magic energy had formed between her hands. Several astronomical orbs were glowing within the prism, growing larger the more magic energy Lucy summoned.

"Let me show you just how 'weak' this Fairy Tail wizard is!" She threw the astronomical prism into the air above her. " _Spectral inferno!"_ Lucy screamed in rage, unleashing the power of her attack.

The prism burst like a firework, sending the small celestial bodies flying toward Minerva like projectiles.

Jellal, Erza, and Sting all stared at Lucy in absolute shock, their mouths hung open like broken hinges. It was a very rare occasion that the Heartfilia got so angry that she resorted to brute violence.

Jellal slowly walked over to where Minerva had stood, unable to see through the still dissipating cloud of debris that had formed from the massive attack. He closed his eyes to concentrate.

"I sense no magic energy. She is unconscious." He stated matter-of-factly, turning his head toward the rest of the Eternal Hex members.

"If you value your lives and your honor, you will surrender now." Erza's voice boomed through the silence.

Eternal Hex had other plans, however, as each member held a strange lacrima into the air and disappeared. When the dust had finally cleared several minutes later, it appeared that Minerva was gone as well.

"Lucy… _When?_ " Erza Scarlet asked, throwing her arm over Lucy's shoulders. "That was amazing!"

"I've actually been working on that with Leo for quite some time now." Lucy held up a peace sign. "This was the first time I'd been able to use it outside of practice."

"I'm going to tell everyone about this when we get back to the guild hall." The scarlet haired mage held a fist out in victory. "Let us head back to the inn now, though. It is getting dark and we must leave tomorrow afternoon."

"That was phenomenal, Luce." Sting said in passing as he gave her a pat on the back but continued to walk ahead.

Lucy frowned. "Thanks…" Something was off about him, but questions would have to wait until later.

* * *

The door softly clicked shut behind them as they entered the room. Sting hadn't even bothered to turn around before he strode over to his belongings, gathering them up in messy handfuls and tossing them forcefully into his bag.

Lucy carefully watched him as she remained standing in front of the doorway, nervously chewing on her thumb nail. If one thing was evident, it was that Sting was upset. About what though, she wasn't quite sure. In her opinion, things had ended rather well given the circumstances. Though they'd had to engage the enemy, they'd obtained extremely valuable intel.

She continued chewing her nail into a nub as her thoughts paused on the one particular incident that had sent her into her blind fit of rage. Did Sting really _love_ her? The thought both made her heart race and drop at the same time. This feeling was a delicate mixture of both excitement and fear. But seeing his reaction right now only further boldened that fear.

"Sting?" Lucy called out uncertainly. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she just needed him to say _something_. She needed some type of reassurance; anything to ease the uncertain feelings in her heart.

"I'm going to stay somewhere else tonight." Though his tone was calm, his words had an unexpectedly cold bite to them.

And Lucy found that this made her ridiculously angry.

Fear and uncertainty forgotten, the Fairy Tail wizard strode forward in a fit of momentary irritation. She reached out and grabbed Sting by his tanned shoulder, pulling his body to the side so they were facing each other.

Taken by surprise, he made the mistake of locking in on her hard gaze.

"Is it true?" She pressed, still holding on to his upper arm, squeezing tightly to imply that she _needed_ to know the answer.

He looked away under the pressure. He was so unsure of what to do. That momentary flicker of fear he had seen come to light in her eyes when Minerva shouted that he loved her had been replaying in his mind over and over again since it'd happened. It had told him that maybe there never really was a chance with Lucy. Was she scared because she couldn't reciprocate his feelings?

"Yes." He answered. It was too late now anyways. She'd know if he was lying.

He closed his eyes and released a long, drawn out breath he'd been holding, groaning as he hung his head down in disdain.

But the next thing he knew was the subtle, sweet taste of honey and lavender against his lips.

His eyes shot open as he took in a sharp breath, caught completely off guard. _'This had to be a dream,_ ' he thought.

But the small, nervous smile playing on Lucy's lips told him otherwise.

"Luce…" He muttered as his deep blue eyes noticeably softened in adoration. He knew he was wearing his heart on his sleeve.

"Don't speak," she whispered as her soft hands slid behind his neck and into his hair, gently pulling him down for another kiss.

Dumbstruck, he just stood there for a few seconds as she moved her lips softly over his, running her delicate fingers through his pale hair, over his ears and across his cheeks.

"Sting?" Her angelic voice murmured questioningly against his lips.

The realization that this was indeed really and truly happening was overwhelming. He finally reciprocated the kiss and let his lips move in a harmonic rhythm with hers. He could hear his heart thumping loudly in his ears as the kiss deepened hastily, their bodies becoming greedier with need.

Fear and uncertainty long forgotten, Lucy fell backwards onto the bed, pulling Sting with her so that his body was pinning her down between her spread legs. Her intentions for the night were very clear.

"Lucy, are you sure about this?" Sting breathed heavily into her ear, trailing hot kisses along the side of her neck. "I don't know if I'll be able to stop if we go too far. I've been dreaming about this night for a long, long time…"

As he looked into the depths of her honey brown orbs that he loved so much, he felt as if a burden was being lifted from his very being. Staring into her eyes, he was reminded of just why he loved this beautiful woman. He found all the answers he would ever need within them.

Placing his hands on either side of her head, Lucy leaned forward as his mouth slowly descended upon hers. Her tongue slipped into his mouth, stroking his as they glided together, their actions now fueled by raw carnal desire.

Sting's calloused hands slid down Lucy's torso, dipping into every smooth curve on her fair skin. When he reached the hem of her dress, he slowly slid the material upward to reveal her toned thighs and the flat plane of her stomach, lowering his head to trail butterfly kisses up her creamy skin as he continued to remove the dress until she was clad in nothing but her lacy black undergarments.

He swept his eyes across her body slowly, lingering on every small detail as if memorizing a picture he never wanted to forget. His heart was brimming with pride and joy.

Realizing she was the only one who had discarded any clothes, Lucy's hands glided down Sting's ridiculously toned arms, pulling them free of his signature arm sleeves.

She was writhing in pleasure as he continued his ministrations of planting kisses on every inch of her body.

But she wanted to see him, too.

Lucy propped herself on her elbows as she pushed Sting onto his side so that he was lying next to her. She turned to meet him, slipping her arm under the hem of his skin-tight black shirt and pushing it upward to reveal his sculpted, tanned abdomen in all its glory.

Lucy's tongue followed the trail of her fingers as she pulled his shirt over his head, kissing several spots across his broad chest and shoulders. Sting let out a raspy moan, his hands digging into her skin where he had been caressing her lower back.

She finally pressed her lips to his neck, tasting the saltiness of his skin with her tongue.

Sting couldn't take it anymore. He needed to have her now. Not only was Sting a man, but he was a dragon slayer. The dragon nature within him was screaming out for him to take her now. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.

He pushed Lucy onto her back once more, but took the time to unbuckle his dark gray pants and kick them off, revealing his erection, before crawling back over her lithe body.

Lucy moaned and shivered in pleasure as he slid his strong hands up her sides and across her back to unclasp her bra. Unhurriedly, he removed the thin fabric from her breasts and tossed it to the side, leaving her chest bare before him. He allowed his gaze to sweep appreciatively over her perfect, curvaceous body before taking her lips with his again.

Sting couldn't hold back the groan that slipped through his mouth as he trailed heated kisses softly down her neck, sweeping across the even crests of her collarbones. His rough hands rose to cup the soft mounds of her breasts as he kissed the soft skin between them, teasing her hardened nipples with the backs of his fingers.

Lucy had never been touched like this. She was writhing with electric pulses of pleasure, uncontrollable whimpering the only sound escaping her.

He pinned her hands down on either side of her head with his own, his inner dragon forcing him to assert his dominance.

She cried out as he pressed soft, moistened lips to the hardened peak of her nipple. Her back arched sharply as she gasped for breath, grabbing a handful of his hair as she whispered Sting's name over and over. The warm moisture of his mouth in combination with the urgency of his actions caused another jolt of desire to shoot through her.

She subconsciously wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing his hardened member into the soaking wet warmth of her core.

He hissed sharply at the contact.

"Sting…" Lucy whimpered, pleading for him to take her.

The hard pressure against her was exactly what she was craving, causing her to writhe upward against his manhood again. A low growl emitted from the back of Sting's throat as he slid away to hook his fingers under the thin strap of her lacy panties. He didn't even bother sliding them off, he ripped them away swiftly and repositioned himself at her entrance as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Is this your first time, Luce?" He whispered, staring into her hazy eyes darkened with passion, as his erection throbbed against her entrance in anticipation.

She nodded slowly, biting her lower lip as he softly pressed his forehead against hers. "Mine too." He murmured.

He settled permanently against Lucy, closing his eyes and groaning as he firmly planted his lips onto hers and slowly eased into her tightness as their bodies aligned.

Lucy let out a ragged breath.

"Does it hurt?" It pained him to do so, but he stopped where he was, scared to go any further if she was in any kind of pain.

"No." She smiled. "It feels… weird. But I know it will be perfect in just a few moments." She chimed softly, rubbing the soft pad of her thumb across his cheek. "I love you, Sting."

God, she was so beautiful.

He continued pushing his length into her until he had filled her with every last inch of himself. Sting had to stop and take a deep breath at the overwhelming sensation. This feeling was shockingly powerful, the flood of sensations from Lucy's warmth, tightness, and velvety moisture bombarded every receptor in his body. This feeling was more than he had ever expected, and his heart soared at the perfection of this moment with the woman he loved.

As Lucy finally became adjusted to his girth, Sting slowly began thrusting forward. It was both of their first times, so naturally it was rather uncoordinated and awkward in the beginning, but as they both found their perfect pace and rhythm, that synchronization that brought pure ecstasy, the primal and animalistic natures within them took over.

Panting and sweating together, Sting's thrusts grew quicker and slid deeper into Lucy's core, hitting that perfect spot where immense pressure had built. And each time he hit it, Lucy cried his name out in ecstasy, begging him for the release of that tightened coil in her core.

Sting buried his face into her neck, their bodies glistening with a sheen of sweat. When he finally grabbed her hips with his hands and began pulling her into his thrusts, she couldn't take it any longer. Lucy screamed out in rapture, digging her nails into the skin between his shoulder blades.

A broken groan escaped him as he met his peak as well, the full weight of his body collapsing onto hers as the most powerful sensations of euphoria he had ever experienced wracked his body in waves of pleasure.

The two blondes remained locked together, panting heavily as their rapidly beating hearts tried to regulate themselves. Their first time had been rather swift and hurried, but he didn't mind. It had been perfect, and it was considered a learning experience. The next time, he planned to take it slow and explore every last inch of Lucy's body.

Sting stirred, releasing Lucy from his iron grip and settling in beside her on the bed. He pulled her bare body against his, and he didn't miss the opportunity to whisper the words "I love you," one more time in her ears as blissful sleep began taking him.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm so, so, so sorry I haven't been able to update in several months. Life has been crazy, and I apologize for that. Also just fair warning, huge **lemon alert** for this chapter. It made me really happy to see reviews and follows in my absence. I appreciate you guys so much!

Chapter 8

When Sting awoke the next morning, he realized he had never felt so well rested in his life. In fact, he was so elated with joy that he had to remind himself to breathe as his eyes fell on the beautiful Fairy lying in his arms. She was still asleep, her features soft like the skin that was pressed firmly against his body.

The trip had taken an unexpectedly sharp turn in more ways than one—it was almost overwhelming. He sighed. As much as he wanted nothing more than to just lay in bed with Lucy all day, it was time for them to wake up and head back to Magnolia. They were technically on a mission, after all.

Reluctantly, Sting lifted his arm across his chest and rubbed his calloused thumb softly across Lucy's cheek. The small action caused the celestial spirit mage to moan quietly as her honey brown orbs opened and immediately locked onto his.

For the briefest of a second, Sting become nervous. Had he been too rash? Had he let his selfish desires take things too far the night before?

However, before he even had a chance to think anymore on it, his senses were assaulted by honey and lavender. Soft, sweet lips were gently pressing against his.

"You looked worried, so I wanted to remind you that you shouldn't be." She whispered tenderly. Her delicate fingers ran down the length of his jaw, her sensual notions causing his member to harden under the sheets.

Just as a soft groan escaped his lips, several sharp knocks against their door pulled them away from their bliss.

"Lucy! Sting!" Erza's voice called from the hallway. "What is taking so long? We are running late!"

Though the requip mage hadn't sounded aggravated, the two blondes were suddenly reminded of their agenda and jumped out bed for their clothing. Scrambling around the room for the rest of their belongings, Lucy snuck a glance at the clock on the wall and shrieked. It was 10:55. They were supposed to meet Erza and Jellal downstairs nearly 30 minutes ago.

After packing their bags and getting dressed in a record time of three minutes, Lucy and Sting ran downstairs, prepared to be laid into by the scarlet haired Fairy.

To their surprise, however, Erza was completely laid back about the whole situation. She had barely acknowledged the couple as she continued her conversation with Jellal where they had been waiting outside. As soon as Sting and Lucy loaded their stuff into the carriage, the requip and heavenly body mages followed suit and sat across from them.

Apparently Jellal was making the trip back to the guild hall with them, to inform Makarov of their findings. _He probably just wants to spend more time with Erza_ , Lucy smiled. Her friend deserved no less.

* * *

The ride back to the Fairy Tail guild hall in Magnolia passed agonizingly slow. While Erza and Jellal were very open about their transition in relationship, Lucy and Sting were not. They weren't sure how to progress forward with the news to their guildmates and friends. While Lucy knew that Mira, Wendy, Levy, and Cana would all be ecstatic, Gray and Natsu had always been ridiculously overprotective when it came to other men. And given that Sting was from a different guild—and the guild master, no less—would only make them more reluctant to accept their relationship.

In addition to these thoughts, the unbearable sexual tension that had been present between the two blondes was making the carriage ride pass in an unbearably slow timeline. And this did not go unnoticed by their scarlet and blue haired friends. In fact, it had been hard for them to restrain from commenting on it.

So when they finally arrived at the guild hall early in the evening, it was entertaining to watch as the two blondes practically wrestled for the door handle to exit the carriage. It was evident that they wanted to get the talk with Makarov over with so they could be alone.

To their dismay, however, as soon as the young celestial wizard stepped foot into the guild hall, a flash of black swept her away.

"Lucy!" Gray shouted happily, squeezing her body against his bare torso. He then leaned down so that his face was mere inches away from hers before whispering, "Thank god you're back, Juvia has been driving me insane since you left."

As Lucy giggled in response and hugged her fellow guildmate back, the sight of such affection with another man caused Sting to tense slightly.

"Don't let it get to you." Erza stated as she approached the young Sabertooth wizard from behind. "Gray may have had affections for Lucy before, but they have long since past. There is nothing to be jealous of." She added matter-of-factly.

But before Sting even had a chance to rebut, Makarov was calling for the returning wizards.

"My children!" The master's voice bellowed. "Do you bring any news?"

Upon hearing the Fairy Tail master's question, several wizards gathered around, curious to hear the answer.

"I regret to say so." The scarlet-haired Fairy replied.

"We bring news that a new dark guild is on the rise." Jellal continued in her stead. "They call themselves Eternal Hex, founded by the former Sabertooth mage Minerva Orland. We were able to trace the magical aura to a certain location, but we were ambushed." The surrounding wizards stood wide-eyed and silent as he continued. "It would appear that the guild was formed with the sole purpose of paying recompense to the Fairy Tail and Sabertooth guilds for the humiliation that Minerva was subjected to at the Grand Magic Games."

Though Makarov remained silent, the bulging vein threatening to burst in his temple spoke of his anger. "How dare she even _think_ to bring harm to my children." The master spat underneath his breath.

As the inhabitants of the guild hall continued to remained silent, the short elderly man rose from his seat on the bar counter. "ERZA!" He called ferociously, his hands balled into fists by his side. "Secure a carriage for tomorrow. I will be leaving in the morning to discuss this with the Magic Council."

Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Erza left the room with Jellal to fulfill the Master's wishes.

"Sting." Makarov called out. "Would you mind staying in town another night? I hate to keep you away from your guild any longer, however since this involves both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth and you are their master, I feel it necessary for you to accompany me to the Council."

With his arms crossed, the young Sabertooth master closed his eyes and sighed. "Of course." He stated simply. "I almost feel responsible, since Minerva used to be one of our own."

"Do not harbor any guilt, young one." The elderly man said as he began walking away from the bar. "We can only guide them, but it is up to them to choose the paths which they will walk. You are very young for a guild master—you still have quite a lot to learn." He added before climbing the stairs and disappearing out of sight.

Sting sat in place for several minutes before he was startled by his fellow Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Oi, pretty boy." Gajeel gruffed out, dragging his hands down his face as if exasperated. "Levy is dragging Bunny Girl out to a picnic with us, so get up and let's go. I'm not going to be the only man at a picnic." He grumbled before dragging Sting off his bench.

Though taken off guard, the young Saber just pinched the corners of his eyes before chuckling. He should have known that the Fairies weren't the type to sit and be depressed for long. His sexual desires long forgotten, he looked over to his blonde counterpart as she helped her blue-haired friend gather food from the kitchen and smiled. It was weird to him, and he wasn't sure if it was something to feel guilty about, but Fairy Tail was beginning to feel like a home away from home.

* * *

The picnic turned out to be the perfect stress relief for everyone. The four mages sat along the shore of Lake Scilliora for hours, just eating, drinking, and relaxing. As the sun slowly began to set, Gajeel stood from his spot beside Sting. The two men had kept each other company while the girls talked incessantly about writing and books.

"Yo, Levy. Let's head out soon." The Iron Slayer yawned. "We gotta start getting supplies together for the mission in the morning."

"Aw, stink." The solid script mage pouted. "I forgot about that," she added as she looked around the picnic area. "We need to at least stay and help clean up."

"Don't worry about it!" Lucy laughed as she noticed Gajeel struggling to keep his eyelids open. "Sting and I can clean up, you guys head go on and head back. After all," she chuckled, "I didn't realize that Gajeel had such an early bedtime."

At this statement, the slayer's eyes shot open. "You think you're funny, bunny girl?" He asked as he began to laugh maniacally.

Before Sting even had a chance to worry, a blur of black flashed past his eyes and all he heard was Lucy screaming before he was able to register that something had even happened.

His blue eyes instantly flashed toward the source of the screaming, but once he caught site of the situation, he couldn't help but laugh.

"We're outta here." Gajeel barked with laughter, scooping Levy up and tossing her across his shoulder.

"But wait—!" Levy shouted.

"Have fun cleaning up, and don't catch a cold." The Iron Slayer continued roaring with laughter as he carried the bluenette away. "Later."

Sting waved his goodbye before walking over to the lake that Lucy had been thrown into as payback for her comment.

His deep blue eyes locked onto her honey brown orbs, and as Lucy emerged from the water, Sting noticed a small detail about the celestial spirit mage that he hadn't earlier—she wasn't wearing a bra. Her soaked white t-shirt had practically become transparent, clinging to every curve of her bodacious body.

Sting felt his member twitch in his pants and harden as his eyes fell upon her pert breasts, her rosy, hardened nipples protruding noticeably from under her shirt.

Before she had even finished wiping the water out of her eyes, Sting was knee-deep in the water with her, hands on either side of her face as he pressed his mouth hungrily against hers.

"Sting!" Lucy whispered sharply against his warm lips, cheeks reddening at his sudden arousal in such a public place.

"I just couldn't hold back any longer," Sting murmured, lifting his hand up to cup her jaw as he drew her tongue into his mouth and began sucking lightly. Last night, the celestial Fairy had been the one to initiate things, which Sting was thanking the heavens for—however, at the moment he wanted nothing more than to show her how the master of the Sabertooth guild and a Dragon Slayer could bring her pleasure.

He lightly pulled on the soaked blonde tresses that clung to her back to expose the skin of her slender neck, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses down it. He stopped to lightly suck on the sweet spot that rested between her neck and collarbones.

He could feel her shiver against him, and she jumped slightly as his hands greedily roamed down her back until they stopped on her each of her firm cheeks, lifting her slightly and hinting for her to wrap her legs around his hips.

A small moan sounded deep in the back of her throat and Sting smirked against her neck before raising his head and reclaiming her mouth, gliding his tongue against hers as he basked in the unique and exquisite taste of Lucy.

Never allowing their mouths to separate, Sting carried her over to their picnic area and pinned her against the tree their blanket was laid out under. Their mouths continued to create a rhythm that Lucy subconsciously began to move her hips to, making Sting want to remove all the clothing that separated their bare skin.

"Mm, Sting…" Lucy moaned softly, her back arching to further press her soft breasts against his chest.

That was all he could take.

He tore his mouth from hers to trail heated kisses along her jawline and down her neck once more, tracing the ridges of her collarbone with his tongue. He became frustrated, however, when he met the collar of her still soaked shirt that separated him from the soft warmth of her breasts beneath them. Without thinking, he removed one of his hands from her hips and ripped the soft fabric in half, tossing the torn material away from their bodies.

Lucy gasped as Sting lifted her up further, still cradling her hips in his hands. She let out a whine before silencing herself as he lapped his tongue gently over one of her hardened rosy nipples before taking it in his mouth and sucking ever so lightly. It was evident that the young Fairy was nervous and shy about making any noise, however the soft moans and whimpers of pleasure that escaped her lips only left the Sabertooth master desperate to hear more.

Her cool, soft skin tasted sweet against his tongue as he lapped the lingering droplets of water that clung to her breasts.

Lucy was panting softly, unable to breathe from the overwhelming sensations. Sting pulled away from her chest, and at that moment he looked up and noted the change in his lover's eyes. Her normally bright honey brown orbs had turned a dark amber, shimmering with desire.

Smirking, he backed away from the tree, holding her in his arms as he laid her down on the picnic blanket. He took the moment to kick his pants off and strip himself of his vest and shirt, tossing them aside carelessly as he repositioned himself above her, covering her slender body with his own.

Seeing Sting's body exposed the way it was, bare and glistening against the setting sun, elicited a pulse of arousal from beneath Lucy's skirt. His skin was tan and taut, stretched across his sculpted and defined muscles that flexed with every movement he made.

She could have stared at him all day, but her thoughts were disrupted as he latched back onto one of her pink buds and suckled gently. Lucy couldn't hold herself back anymore as she cried out, the overwhelming pulses of pleasure like electricity down her spine. Sting let out a growl of approval as the sensations caused her to arch her back and pull him closer to her chest.

Lucy knew she was past the point of discretion with her moaning—she just couldn't help herself. Every touch on her skin caused the throbbing heat between her legs to burn like a wildfire. She shivered beneath him as her arousal caused her clit to pulse in time with her heart, and Sting could feel her thighs rubbing restlessly together, letting him know that she wanted him to touch her in other places.

His mouth made a wet pop as he released the sensitive bud, and when he looked up, seeing Lucy's lust-clouded eyes was like adding gasoline to the fire in his groin. Quickly, he rolled off of her and propped himself on his elbow.

Lucy closed her eyes and whimpered as his warm hand slowly fluttered across her bare stomach, his fingers like electricity on her skin. As his fingers skimmed past the waistband of her skirt to reach the hem, the celestial mage lifted her thigh, allowing the thin material to fall back, exposing herself.

His hands immediately stopped in their tracks, and Sting closed his eyes and groaned. Why did she torture him so? "You didn't wear panties today?" He practically growled.

"I… I didn't have time to put them on in the hotel this morning…" She whispered back, biting her lip softly.

Sting's blue eyes looked down on her, and Lucy took note of how his slit pupils were dilating. He was at the end of his patience.

The curse that came from his lips was self-explanatory as he quickly placed his hands on the inside of her thighs and spread her legs open wide. He then mounted himself onto her, his length pressing against the soft heat of her skin.

Lucy was growing more desperate by the second, biting her lip as her honey orbs reflected nothing but desire, no— _need_.

He ground his teeth as his hands brushed over the velvety plane of her thighs to violently grab her buttocks. He lifted her into his thrusts while the hard expanse of his chest crashed against her soft breasts.

"Sting..." She moaned, the pleasure dripping in her voice sending him over the edge.

Groaning, he readjusted her as he rose onto his knees, hooking his arms under her knees and forcing her legs open. She was totally vulnerable to him like this, and his desire was so savage he let out a deep growl as he began to drive into her hard and fast. His brutal thrusts left Lucy sobbing and half screaming for more, and without warning, the insurmountable pleasure hit them both like a Lucy kick to the stomach. A bestial cry ripped itself from Sting's throat as he bent over and sunk his teeth into her neck, savoring the taste of Lucy as he jerked convulsively underneath her from the sheer force of his climax.

After it passed, he allowed his weight to fall onto her chest, breathing in her sweet scent and showering her neck with kisses. It had been quicker than he would have liked, but he smirked as he realized this was something he knew he could enjoy practicing.

* * *

The next morning, as Lucy walked Sting to the guild hall early for breakfast, they had no idea what was waiting for them. As soon as the blonde duo walked through the massive wooden doors, all movement ceased, and all eyes were staring at the couple, eyes wide and cheeks…. Red?

Noticing this, the young celestial mage furrowed her brows. "What... What's going on, guys?" Lucy asked hesitantly, her eyes scanning the room in confusion as she slowly walked over to the bar. Though everyone was following their movements, every time she looked at someone, they immediately looked away. "Guys?" She asked, now scared.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, followed by a massive blast of heat. "LUCY!" Natsu bellowed.

At the sound of his voice, Lucy's honey orbs found her best friend, and her heart stopped at the sight. Natsu was screaming profanities, his eyes black with rage as he was being restrained by Gray and Gajeel.

"What is this?!" Sting suddenly shouted, stepping in front of Lucy as if to protect her.

"YOU!" Natsu was practically shrieking now, fire shooting out of his mouth in angry bursts. "Is it true, Lucy?!" He demanded. "LUCY! ANSWER ME! Did this bastard really take your innocence?!"

Unable to endure the heat emanating from the Fire Dragon Slayer any longer, Gray and Gajeel were forced to release their hold on him, allowing him to charge head-on toward the Sabertooth master.

Just as he swung his fist back for a punch, the sight of his beautiful best friend stepping in his path caused him to halt in his place.

"Luce…? What are you doing?" He whispered, his eyes wide. He lifted his hands up to his head, pulling at tufts of his pink hair in confusion. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." The celestial Fairy rebutted, bewilderment evident in her eyes.

Sting stood with his mouth agape, too shocked at the situation and Lucy's decision to step in the path of Natsu's destruction to say anything.

"Salamander's just overreacting… Kinda." Gajeel mumbled, his eyes adorned with dark bags. The Iron Slayer walked past the young Dragneel, his heavy steps the only thing that could be heard in the guild hall as he held up a piece of paper for Lucy and Sting to read.

The Sabertooth master took the sheet from his hands, and as his blue eyes scanned the contents of the page, both him and Lucy turned such a dark shade of red that Gajeel swore he saw steam radiating off their skin.

"Levy might've uh… Seen you guys yesterday after we left…" He coughed, pretending to clear his throat. "She, uh… Forgot her notebook, you see, and when she went back to get it, she saw some… stuff." The Redfox was scratching his head, unsure of how to proceed. "She's kinda messed up in the head, so she wrote down what she saw, said she'd use it as inspiration for the rest of her, uh… 'work.'" He sighed. "However, Salamander here decided to be nosy this morning, so when Levy asked me to proofread this, he just haaaaad to have a look-see." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry everyone had to find out this way, kid." He added.

"So it is true…" Natsu whispered, his eyes hollow.

"So what if it is?" Sting asked, rubbing Lucy's shoulders as he noticed tears welling in her eyes. His temper was becoming more apparent. "Look, I understand you guys are protective of Lucy, and I understand it makes you guys uneasy that I'm the master of another guild—but I'm not a dumbass." He raised his voice, his words laced with venom. "I think I'd know better than anyone else what happens when someone messes with a member of Fairy Tail. But I'm not just 'messing around,' so I need you guys to get that through your thick heads and respect Lucy's decision."

Taken aback by the Sabertooth wizard's harsh words, Natsu squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, dragging his calloused hands down his face and shaking his head.

"Fine. But I'll say it one more time just for good measure." The Fire Slayer stated hotly, flames dancing in his eyes as his dark orbs met blue ones. "If you do _anything_ to hurt her, I will _kill you._ "


End file.
